GE6075 Professional Ethics in Engineering

Unit I Human Values

Human Values

Human values are the principles, standards, convictions and beliefs that people adopt as
their guidelines in daily activities.
Principal human values are the foundation on which professional ethics are built.
They are a set of consistent measures and behaviors that individuals choose to practice
in the pursuit of doing what is right or what is expected of them by society.
Most laws and legislation are shaped by human values.
Human values are universal and are important considerations to take into account,
when interacting with other people. These values help to create bonding between
people of different nationalities, race, religious beliefs and cultures.
Some basic principles of human values are moral, value, ethics, integrity, honesty,
character, etc.,

Moral

It refers relating to the principles of right and wrong in behavior.

It is concerned with or relating to human behaviour, esp the distinction between good
and bad or right and wrong behaviour.
Morality (from the Latin moralis "manner, character, proper behavior") can be a body of
standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a
particular philosophy, religion, or culture, or it can derive from a standard that a person
believes should be universal.

Ethics

Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing,

defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The
term ethics was derived from the Ancient Greek word ethikos, which is derived from
the word ethos (habit, "custom").
Ethics refers to the philosophical science that deals with the rightness and wrongness of
human actions. It also refers to the most important values and beliefs of an individual
and/or society.

Professional Ethics

Professional ethics is defined as the personal and corporate rules that govern behavior
within the context of a particular profession.
 Professionally accepted standards of personal and business behavior, values and guiding
principles.
Codes of professional ethics are often established by professional organizations to help
guide members in performing their job functions according to sound and consistent
ethical principles.

Engineering Ethics

Engineering ethics is the field of applied ethics and system of moral principles that apply
to the practice of engineering.
The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and
to the profession.
It is the study of the moral issues and decision confronting individuals and organizations
involved in engineering.
It is usually the response to the specific problems encountered by engineers in order to
make the world better.

Difference between moral and ethics

Ethics and morals relate to right and wrong conduct. While they are sometimes
used interchangeably, they are different: ethics refer to rules provided by an external
source, e.g., codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in religions. Morals refer to an
individuals own principles regarding right and wrong.

Ethics versus Morals comparison chart

Ethics Morals
What are The rules of conduct recognized in respect Principles or habits with respect
they? to a particular class of human actions or a to right or wrong conduct. While
particular group or culture. morals also prescribe dos and
don'ts, morality is ultimately a
personal compass of right and
wrong.
Where do Social system - External Individual - Internal
they come
from?
Why we do Because society says it is the right thing to Because we believe in something
it? do. being right or wrong.
Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for Usually consistent, although can
definition. They tend to be consistent within change if an individuals beliefs
a certain context, but can vary between change.
contexts.
The "Gray" A person strictly following Ethical Principles A Moral Person although
may not have any Morals at all. Likewise, perhaps bound by a higher
one could violate Ethical Principles within a covenant, may choose to follow
given system of rules in order to maintain a code of ethics as it would apply
Moral integrity. to a system. "Make it fit"
Origin Greek word "ethos" meaning"character" Latin word "mos" meaning
"custom"
Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional and Morality transcends cultural
legal guidelines within a particular time and norms
place

Morality is defined as having and living according to a moral code, or principles of right
and wrong. Basic morality condemns murder, adultery, lying and stealing.
However, morality evolves with the evolution of society, differing noticeably in different
cultures.
For instance, whereas one culture finds a man with several wives to be perfectly moral,
another culture sees this as immoral and wrong. Time also noticeably affects the idea of
morality.

Values

Values can be defined as those things that are important to or valued by someone. That
someone can be an individual or, collectively, an organization. One place where values
are important is in relation to vision. One of the imperatives for organizational vision is
that it must be based on and consistent with the organization's core values.
Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or
outcomes.

The ethics, morals, values distinction

Often the three terms: ethics, morals, values are easily confused. For the better understanding
it is defined as follows:

Ethics describes a generally accepted set of moral principles.

Morals describe the goodness or badness or right or wrong of actions.
Values describe a individual or personal standards of what is valuable or important.

Integrity

The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

 Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral
uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and
ethical standards.

Work Ethic

A belief in the moral benefit and importance ofwork and its inherent ability to strengthe
n the character.
Work ethic refers to the act of working hard and diligently. Often, those with strong
work ethic equate working hard with morality and strength of character. A good work
ethic is characterized by integrity and high quality work.

Service Learning

Service-Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful

community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience,
teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.
Through service-learning, young peoplefrom kindergarteners to college studentsuse
what they learn in the classroom to solve real-life problems. They not only learn the
practical applications of their studies, they become actively contributing citizens and
community members through the service they perform.
Service-learning is an education and youth development strategy that connects learning
objectives with meaningful service to the community. Students build civic, leadership,
and academic skills while strengthening communities through service. Benefits include
improved academic achievement, increased student engagement and civic skills, and
stronger communities.

Civic Virtue

Civic virtue is morality or a standard of righteous behavior in relationship to a citizen's

involvement in society like voting, abiding to rules of the country, citizenship,
philanthropy, public good, voluntarism, etc.,
Without an understanding of civic virtue, citizens are less likely to look beyond their
families, friends and economic interests.
Respect for others

The basic principle of duty is to show respect to others. Never treat people merely as
things. They should be treated with respect.
Respect to others involves duties like honesty, keeping promises, not cause suffering to
others, show gratitude of kindness, be fair, etc.,
Politeness and common courtesy are more likely to achieve success, in business and in
life, than a selfish, bullying attitude.
Word of your genuine concern, for treating others fairly and with respect, will improve
your company's public image dramatically. Customers and clients will refer your
business to their friends and family, resulting in even more personal referrals. Good old
fashioned word of mouth advertising, through testimonials from satisfied customers is a
powerful marketing tool.

Living Peacefully

The spirit of community among people of all races, color, languages , cultures which
bring about economic prosperity and human development towards harmony in living.
The job or profession one has should be conducive environment to carry out his
responsibilities. There should not be any tension or over pressure, unnecessary
interference or disturbance from others though they are superiors.
The rules and regulations must also be to a certain and limited extent flexible so as to
make the atmosphere peaceful.
If people are not allowed to carry out their duties in a peaceful atmosphere, the
unwarranted behaviors will naturally come into force.

Caring

As a normal human being a person must have some interest about the welfare of the
other persons, at least to some extent. This type of caring is essential to make the
environment good.
Similar type of caring is also required in the workplace among the workers for the
successful implementation of the workload assigned.
Individuals with care orientation will try to find out the best course of action that
preservers the interest of all those people involved and actions taken by such care-
oriented people will have least amount of damage to the relationships among the
individuals.
Sharing

Primarily, caring influences sharing. Sharing is a process that describes the transfer of
knowledge (teaching, learning, and information), experience (training), commodities (material
possession) and facilities with others. The transfer should be genuine, legal, positive, voluntary,
and without any expectation in return. However, the proprietary information it should not be
shared with outsiders. Through this process of sharing, experience, expertise, wisdom and
other benefits reach more people faster. Sharing is voluntary and it cannot be driven by force,
but motivated successfully through ethical principles. In short, sharing is charity.

For the humanity, sharing is a culture. The happiness and wealth are multiplied and
the crimes and sufferings are reduced, by sharing. It paves the way for peace and obviates
militancy. Philosophically, the sharing maximizes the happiness for all the human beings. In
terms of psychology, the fear, divide, and distrust between the haves and have-nots
disappear. Sharing not only paves the way to prosperity, early and easily, and sustains it.
Economically speaking, benefits are maximized as there is no wastage or loss, and everybody
gets ones needs fulfilled and satisfied. Commercially speaking, the profit is maximized.
Technologically, the productivity and utilization are maximized by sharing.

In the industrial arena, code-sharing in airlines for bookings on air travels and the
common Effluent Treatment Plant constructed for small-scale industries in the industrial
estates, are some of the examples of sharing. The co-operative societies for producers as well
as consumers are typical examples of sharing of the goods, profit and other social benefits.

Here is an anecdote that illustrates the benefits of sharing, for the young minds!

The shouting...the screamingthe fighting. That was the breaking point for me as I
poured out my woes to my mother. How can I get them to share as well as we did as kids?, I
pleaded. Laughter was her reply. Well, thanks a lot, mom, I said. Im sorry, she chuckled,
but you didnt always share. She went on to explain about the Box of Misbehaved Toys.
Every time we fought over a toy, she would quietly take that and put it into the box.

Yes, I did remember that box. I also remember it wasnt always fair since one person
may have caused all the commotion. But my mother was consistent. No matter what the
reason for the struggle was, the toy disappeared into the box for one week. No questions
asked, and no chance of parole. My siblings and I soon learned that sharing a toy was better
than losing it. Often, one person would decide to just wait for a time when no one else was
playing with the toy, rather than fight and lose it. It was not a perfect system, but I tried it
anyway.
That box was a shock to my kids and it was close to full, within a few days..As the
weeks progressed, I noticed the box was emptier and the arguing was less. Today, I heard quiet
music to my ears as my son said to his sister, Thats OK, you can play with it.

This story illustrates the worthy joy of sharing as compared to the pain of losing.

Honesty

Honesty is a virtue, and it is exhibited in two aspects namely,

(a) Truthfulness and

(b) Trustworthiness.

Truthfulness is to face the responsibilities upon telling truth. One should keep ones
word or promise. By admitting ones mistake committed (one needs courage to do that!), it is
easy to fix them. Reliable engineering judgment, maintenance of truth, defending the truth, and
communicating the truth, only when it does good to others, are some of the reflections of
truthfulness. But trustworthiness is maintaining integrity and taking responsibility for personal
performance. People abide by law and live by mutual trust. They play the right way to win,
according to the laws or rules (legally and morally). They build trust through reliability and
authenticity. They admit their own mistakes and confront unethical actions in others and take
tough and principled stand, even if unpopular.

Honesty is mirrored in many ways. The common reflections are:

(a) Beliefs (intellectual honesty).

(b) Communication (writing and speech).
(c) Decisions (ideas, discretion).
(d) Actions (means, timing, place, and the goals). And
(e) Intended and unintended results achieved.

As against this, some of the actions of an engineer that leads to dishonesty are:

1. Lying: Honesty implies avoidance of lying. An engineer may communicate wrong or distorted
test results intentionally or otherwise. It is giving wrong information to the right people.
2. Deliberate deception: An engineer may judge or decide on matters one is not familiar or with
insufficient data or proof, to impress upon the customers or employers. This is a self deceit.
3. Withholding the information: It means hiding the facts during communication to ones
superior or subordinate, intentionally or otherwise.
4. Not seeking the truth: Some engineers accept the information or data, without applying their
mind and seeking the truth.
5. Not maintaining confidentiality: It is giving right information to wrong people. The engineers
should keep information of their customers/clients or of their employers confidential and
should not discuss them with others.
6. Giving professional judgment under the influence of extraneous factors such as personal
benefits and prejudice. The laws, experience, social welfare, and even conscience are given a
go-bye by such actions. Certainly this is a higher-order crime.

Courage

Courage is the tendency to accept and face risks and difficult tasks in rational ways. Self-
confidence is the basic requirement to nurture courage.

Courage is classified into three types, based on the types of risks, namely

(a) Physical courage,

(b) Social courage, and
(c) Intellectual courage.

In physical courage, the thrust is on the adequacy of the physical strength, including the
muscle power and armaments. People with high adrenalin, may be prepared to face challenges
for the mere thrill or driven by a decision to excel.
The social courage involves the decisions and actions to change the order, based on the
conviction for or against certain social behaviors. This requires leadership abilities, including
empathy and sacrifice, to mobilize and motivate the followers, for the social cause.
The intellectual courage is inculcated in people through acquired knowledge,
experience, games, tactics, education, and training. In professional ethics, courage is applicable
to the employers, employees, public, and the press.

Look before you leap. One should perform Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and
Threat (SWOT) analysis. Calculate (estimate) the risks, compare with ones strengths, and
anticipate the end results, while taking decisions and before getting into action. Learning from
the past helps. Past experience (ones own or borrowed!) and wisdom gained from self-study or
others will prepare one to plan and act with self-confidence, succeed in achieving the desired
ethical goals through ethical means. Opportunities and threat existing and likely to exist in
future are also to be studied and measures to be planned. This anticipatory management will
help anyone to face the future with courage.

Facing the criticism, owning responsibility, and accepting the mistakes or errors when
committed and exposed are the expressions of courage. In fact, this sets their mind to be
vigilant against the past mistakes, and creative in finding the alternate means to achieve the
desired objectives. Prof. Sathish Dhawan, Chief of ISRO, was reported to have exhibited his
courage and owned responsibility, when the previous space mission failed, but credited Prof.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (now our revered President), when the subsequent mission succeeded.

The courageous people own and have shown the following characteristics, in their
professions:

(a) Perseverance (sustained hard work),

(b) Experimentation (preparedness to face the challenges, that is, unexpected or unintended
results),
(c) Involvement (attitude, clear and firm resolve to act), and
(d) Commitment (willing to get into action and to reach the desired goals by any alternative but
ethical means).

Valuing Time

Time is rare resource. Once it is spent, it is lost forever. It cannot be either stored or
recovered. Hence, time is the most perishable and most valuable resource too. This resource is
continuously spent, whether any decision or action is taken or not.

The history of great reformers and innovators have stressed the importance of time and
valuing time. The proverbs, Time and tide wait for nobody and Procrastination is the thief of
time amply illustrate this point.

An anecdote to highlight the value of time is as follows: To realize the value of one
year, ask the student who has failed in the examinations;. To realize the value of one month,
ask the mother who has delivered a premature baby; to realize the value of one week, ask the
editor of weekly; to realize the value of one day, ask the daily-wage laborer; to realize now the
value of one hour, ask the lovers longing to meet; to realize the value of one minute, ask a
person who has missed the train; to realize the value of one second, ask the person who has
survived an accident; to realize the value one milli second, ask the person who has won the
bronze medal in Olympics; to realize the value of one micro second, ask the NASA team of
scientists; to realize the value of one nano-second, ask a Hardware engineer!; If you have still
not realized the value of time, wait; are you an Engineer?

Cooperation

It is a team-spirit present with every individual engaged in engineering. Co-operation is

activity between two persons or sectors that aims at integration of operations (synergy), while
not sacrificing the autonomy of either party. Further, working together ensures, coherence, i.e.,
blending of different skills required, towards common goals. Willingness to understand others,
think and act together and putting this into practice, is cooperation. Cooperation promotes
collinearity, coherence (blend), co-ordination (activities linked in sequence or priority) and the
synergy (maximizing the output, by reinforcement). The whole is more than the sum of the
individuals. It helps in minimizing the input resources (including time) and maximizes the
outputs, which include quantity, quality, effectiveness, and efficiency.

According to professional ethics, cooperation should exist or be developed, and

maintained, at several levels; between the employers and employees, between the superiors
and subordinates, among the colleagues, between the producers and the suppliers (spare
parts), and between the organization and its customers.

The codes of ethics of various professional societies insist on appropriate cooperation to

nourish the industry. The absence of cooperation leads to lack of communication,
misinformation, void in communication, and undue delay between supply, production,
marketing, and consumption. This is likely to demoralize and frustrate the employees, leading
to collapse of the industry over time and an economic loss to the society.

The impediments to successful cooperation are:

1. Clash of ego of individuals.

2. Lack of leadership and motivation.
3. Conflicts of interests, based on region, religion, language, and caste.
4. Ignorance and lack of interest. By careful planning, motivation, leadership, fostering and
rewarding team work, professionalism and humanism beyond the divides, training on
appreciation to different cultures, mutual understanding cooperation can be developed and
also sustained.
Commitment

Commitment means alignment to goals and adherence to ethical principles during the
activities. First of all, one must believe in ones action performed and the expected end results
(confidence). It means one should have the conviction without an iota of doubt that one will
succeed. Holding sustained interest and firmness, in whatever ethical means one follows, with
the fervent attitude and hope that one will achieve the goals, is commitment. It is the driving
force to realize success.

This is a basic requirement for any profession. For example, a design engineer shall
exhibit a sense of commitment, to make his product or project designed a beneficial
contribution to the society. Only when the teacher (Guru) is committed to his job, the students
will succeed in life and contribute good to the society. The commitment of top management
will naturally lead to committed employees, whatever may be their position or emoluments.
This is bound to add wealth to oneself, ones employer, society, and the nation at large.

Empathy

Empathy is social radar. Sensing what others feel about, without their open talk, is the
essence of empathy. Empathy begins with showing concern, and then obtaining and
understanding the feelings of others, from others point of view. It is also defined as the ability
to put ones self into the psychological frame or reference or point of view of another, to know
what the other person feels. It includes the imaginative projection into others feelings and
understanding of others background such as parentage, physical and mental state, economic
situation, and association. This is an essential ingredient for good human relations and
transactions.

To practice Empathy, a leader must have or develop in him, the following

characteristics

1. Understanding others: It means sensing others feelings and perspectives, and taking
active interest in their welfare.
2. Service orientation: It is anticipation, recognition and meeting the needs of the clients or
customers.
3. Developing others: This means identification of their needs and bolstering their abilities.
In developing others, the one should inculcate in him the listening skill first.
Communication = 22% reading and writing + 23% speaking + 55% listening One should
get the feedback, acknowledge the strength and accomplishments, and then coach the
 individual, by informing about what was wrong, and giving correct feedback and positive
expectation of the subjects abilities and the resulting performance.
4. Leveraging diversity (opportunities through diverse people): This leads to enhanced
organizational learning, flexibility, and profitability.
5. Political awareness: It is the ability to read political and social currents in an
organization.

The benefits of empathy include:

1. Good customer relations (in sales and service, in partnering).

2. Harmonious labor relations (in manufacturing).
3. Good vendor-producer relationship (in partnering.)

Through the above three, we can maximize the output and profit, as well as minimizing
the loss. While dealing with customer complaints, empathy is very effective in realizing the
unbiased views of others and in admitting ones own limitations and failures. According to Peter
Drucker, purpose of the business is not to make a sale, but to make and keep a customer.
Empathy assists one in developing courage leading to success!

1.18 SELF-CONFIDENCE

Certainty in ones own capabilities, values, and goals, is self-confidence. These people
are usually positive thinking, flexible and willing to change. They respect others so much as they
respect themselves. Self-confidence is positive attitude, wherein the individual has some
positive and realistic view of himself, with respect to the situations in which one gets involved.
The people with self-confidence exhibit courage to get into action and unshakable faith in their
abilities, whatever may be their positions. They are not influenced by threats or challenges and
are prepared to face them and the natural or unexpected consequences.

The self-confidence in a person develops a sense of partnership, respect, and

accountability, and this helps the organization to obtain maximum ideas, efforts, and guidelines
from its employees. The people with self-confidence have the following characteristics:

1. A self-assured standing,

2. Willing to listen to learn from others and adopt (flexibility),

3. Frank to speak the truth, and

4. Respect others efforts and give due credit.

On the contrary, some leaders expose others when failure occurs, and own the credit
when success comes.
 The factors that shape self-confidence in a person are:

1. Heredity (attitudes of parents) and family environment (elders),

2. Friendship (influence of friends/colleagues),

3. Influence of superiors/role models, and

4. Training in the organization (e.g., training by Technical Evangelists at Infosys

Technologies).

The following methodologies are effective in developing self-confidence in a person:

1. Encouraging SWOT analysis. By evaluating their strength and weakness, they can
anticipate and be prepared to face the results.

2. Training to evaluate risks and face them (self-acceptance).

3. Self-talk. It is conditioning the mind for preparing the self to act, without any doubt in
his capabilities. This make one accepts himself while still striving for improvement.

4. Study and group discussion, on the history of leaders and innovators (e.g., Sam
Walton of Wal-Mart, USA).

Challenges in the work place

The biggest workplace challenge is said to be the employees work ethics: showing up to
work every day (interest in work and attendance), showing up to work on time (punctuality),
taking pride in the quality of their work, commitment to the job, and getting along with others.
This situation demands inculcation of good character in the workplace by employees.

Character

It is a characteristic property that defines the behavior of an individual. It is the pattern

of virtues (morally-desirable features). Character includes attributes that determine a persons
moral and ethical actions and responses. It is also the ground on which morals and values
blossom. People are divided into several categories, according to common tendencies such as
ruthless, aggressiveness, and ambition, constricting selfishness, stinginess, or cheerfulness,
generosity and goodwill. Individuals vary not only in the type of their character but also in the
degree. Those whose lives are determined and directed by the prevailing habits, fashions,
beliefs, attitudes, opinions and values of the society in which they live have at best a developed
social as opposed to an individual character.
 The character is exhibited through conduct. Character is determined by the expectations
of society. Many act and live within its norms, refusing to fall below the required social
minimum, failing to rise above the maximum expected of a normal member of the group. On
one extreme are those that do not even conform to the minimum standards, and fail to acquire
the socially-required behaviors, attitudes and values. These individuals have an unformed social
character. At the other extreme are those whose beliefs, attitudes and values are determined
internally by the strength of their own convictions. These are individuals with developed minds
and formed characters of their own. Individuals do not live or act in a vacuum. They exist and
act in a human social environment of other people that constantly act on them and react to
their actions. They also live in a natural environment of physical objects and material forces
such as the winds and rains. And those with occult and spiritual Human Values traditions
recognize that there is also a subtle environment of other planes of existence, both higher
planes of spiritual influence and lower planes of negative forces in universal nature seeking to
act on the lives. All of the social, material and the occult planes constitute the field of human
activity. Each of them functions according to its own laws or principles. Each of them has its
own characteristic modes of action and influence on human life. Character is the expression of
the personality of a human being, and that it reveals itself in ones conduct. In this sense every
human has a character. At the same time only human beings, not animals have character: it
implies rationality. But in addition to this usage, the term is also employed in a narrower sense,
as when we speak of a person of character. In this connotation, character implies certain
unity of qualities with a recognizable degree of constancy in mode of action. Psychology
analyzes the elements of character to trace the laws of its growth, to distinguish the chief
agencies which contribute to the formation of different types of character, and to classify them.
Many psychologists world over, during the last 40 years have given a large quantity of acute
observations on the topic of character. Still these contributions do not constitute a science.

The Four Temperaments

The original endowment or native element in character with which the individual starts
life is practically identical with what the Ancients recognized as temperament. From the times
of Hippocrates, they distinguished four main types of temperaments: the Sanguine, the
Choleric, the Phlegmatic, and the Melancholic. The modern speculation accepts the same
classification, but under other names. These different types of temperaments are accounted for
differences in physiological conditions of the tissues of the body, by diverse rates of activities in
the processes of nutrition and waste, in the changes of nerve-energy, or in circulation, and by
differences of tonicity in the nerves. Irrespective of the physiological explanation, the four-fold
classification seems to be fair. Moreover, though scientists are still far from agreeing upon the
precise elements in the organism on which temperament depends, the fact that different forms
of temperaments have an organic basis such as hormones seems certain. Although our original
temperament is given to us independently of our will by heredity, we play an important part in
moulding our character, and we thus become responsible for certain ethical qualities in it.
Character has been defined as natural temperament completely fashioned by the will. It is, in
fact, a resultant of our acquired habits with our original disposition. The regular use of the
intellect, the controlled activity of the imagination, the practice of judgment and reflection, all
contribute to the formation and refinement of habits of mind. The frequent indulgence in
particular forms of emotion, such as anger, envy, sympathy, melancholy, fear, and the like,
fosters tendencies towards these sentiments which give a subconscious bent to a large part of
mans behavior. But finally, the exercise of the will plays the predominant role in moulding the
type of character. The manner and degree in which currents of thought and waves of emotion
are initiated, guided, and controlled by the will, or allowed to follow the course of spontaneous
impulse, has more effect in determining the resultant type of character than the quality of the
thoughts or emotions themselves. The life of the animal is entirely ruled by instinct from within,
and by accidental circumstances from without. It is therefore incapable of acquiring a character.
A human, through reasoning and the growth of reflection, by the exercise of choice against the
impulse, gradually develops self-control; and it is by the exercise of this power that moral
character is formed and reformed. Character is in fact A Textbook on Professional Ethics and
Human Values the outcome of a series of volitions, and it is for this reason we are responsible
for our characters, as we are for the individual habits which go to constitute them.

Types of Character

From the four fundamental temperaments, various classifications of character have

been adopted by different psychologists. The intellectual, the emotional, and the volitional or
energetic are the chief types with A. Bain. M. Prez, based on the phenomenon of movement,
distinguishes characters as lively, slow, ardent, and well-balanced. M. Ribot, with more
subjective division and excluding indefinite types as characterless, recognizes the forms as:

(a) the sensitive (humble, contemplative and emotional,

(b) the active (great and the mediocre), and

(c) the apathetic (purely apathetic or dull), and

(d) the intelligent.

Ethics and Character

Whilst psychology investigates the growth of different types of character, ethics

considers the relative value of such types and the virtues which constitute them. The problem
of the true moral ideal is a question of the relative value of different types of character. The
effect on the persons character of a particular form of conduct is a universally accepted as a
test of its moral quality. Different systems of ethics emphasize different virtues in constituting
the ideal moral character. With the utilitarian, who places the ethical end in the maximum
happiness for the whole community, benevolence will form the primary element in the ideal
character. For the stoic, fortitude and self-control are the chief excellences. In all conceptions of
ideal character, firmness of will, fortitude, constancy in adhering to principle or in pursuit of a
noble aim are held important. A man of character is frequently equivalent to being capable of
adhering to a fixed purpose. Another essential is the virtue of justice, the recognition of the
rights, duties, and claims of others. The richer the culture of the mind, the larger the intellectual
horizon, the broader the sympathies, the more will the character approximate to the ideal of
human perfection.

Education and Character

The aim of education is not only the cultivation of the intellect but also the formation of
moral character. Increased intelligence or physical skill may as easily be employed to the
detriment or benefit of the community, if not accompanied by improved will. It is the function
of ethics to determine the ideals of human character. The theory and science of education are
to study the processes by which that end may be attained.

Building Character in the Workplace

Managers have to influence and employ creative means of stressing the importance of good
character in the workplace, in the following ways:

1. Employee Hiring, Training, and Promotion Activities

a) Institute and adopt an organization policy statement to positive character in the

workplace. For example, commitment to civility pledges. This may be communicated
through printing on the back of the business cards of the employees.
b) Prominently and explicitly include character considerations in recruiting procedures,
during interviews and in the hiring deliberations.
c) Emphasize the importance of character and adherence to the six pillars of character in
orientation, initial job training, and during in-service training. The six pillars of character
are the ethical values, such as: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring
and citizenship. Respect means showing high regard for self, others, authority, property
 and country. It includes showing appreciation for cultural diversity by valuing all people
as human beings. Responsibility is
i. being accountable for ones actions,
ii. being dependable in carrying out obligations and duties,
iii. being reliable and consistent in word and action, and
iv. being committed to community development. Integrity or fairness means showing the
inner strength and courage to be truthful, trustworthy, fair and honest in all things. It
includes acting justly and honorably. Caring means being kind, considerate, courteous,
helpful, friendly and generous to others, and being compassionate by treating others as
you would like to be treated. Citizenship means accepting and adopting civic rights and
duties as a citizen of the country.

d) Include evaluation of fundamental character values such as honesty, promise keeping,

accountability, fairness, and caring, in appraisals/reviews.
e) Institute recognition and reward system for the employees who exemplify the positive
character. for example, awards and medals.
f) Think of your employees, especially the younger ones, as people whose personal and
work values will be influenced by what you expect of them and how you treat them.
g) Think of your employees as present or future mentors, coaches, and volunteers .

2. Internal Communication

Use internal communication channels to create a friendly environment that praises positive
role modeling at the workplace and in the community by encouraging voluntarism, and
mentoring, e.g., through

a. Internal newsletters,
b. Workplace posters in canteens and recreation rooms,
c. Mailers, and
d. Electronic mails.

3. External Communication

In relations with customers, vendors and others, consciously communicate affirming

messages about character and ethics, such as

a. Advertise and market honoring consensual values (the six pillars),

b. Assure that none of your products and services undermines character building,
c. Include positive messages about voluntarism and celebrate, and
d. Character counts week in advertising, billings and other mailers.
4. Financial and Human Resources

a. Support local and national character projects and the activities of the members by
encouraging staff members to get involved. Offer incentives such as paying employees
for the time they contribute at a local youth-service organization.
b. Sponsor character movement through financial support.

5. Community Outreach

a. Use public outreach structures to encourage mentoring and other character-building

programs.
b. Encourage educational and youth organizations to become active in character building.
c. Use corporate influence to encourage business groups (chambers of commerce,
conference boards, and Rotary clubs) and other companies to support character
building.

Spirituality

Spirituality is a way of living that emphasizes the constant awareness and recognition of
the spiritual dimension (mind and its development) of nature and people, with a dynamic
balance between the material development and the spiritual development. This is said to be
the great virtue of Indian philosophy and for Indians. Sometimes, spirituality includes the faith
or belief in supernatural power/ God, regarding the worldly events. It functions as a fertilizer
for the soil character to blossom into values and morals. Spirituality includes creativity,
communication, recognition of the individual as human being (as opposed to a life-less
machine), respect to others, acceptance (stop finding faults with colleagues and accept them
the way they are), vision (looking beyond the obvious and not believing anyone blindly), and
partnership (not being too authoritative, and always sharing responsibility with others, for
better returns). Spirituality is motivation as it encourages the colleagues to perform better.
Remember, lack of motivation leads to isolation. Spirituality is also energy: Be energetic and
flexible to adapt to challenging and changing situations. Spirituality is flexibility as well. One
should not be too dominating. Make space for everyone and learn to recognize and accept
people the way they are. Variety is the order of the day. But one can influence their mind to
think and act together. Spirituality is also fun. Working is okay, but you also need to have fun in
office to keep yourself charged up. Tolerance and empathy are the reflections of spirituality.
Blue and saffron colors are said to be associated with spirituality. Creativity in spirituality means
conscious efforts to see things differently, to break out of habits and outdated beliefs to find
new ways of thinking, doing and being. Suppression of creativity leads to violence. People are
naturally creative. When they are forced to crush their creativity, its energy turns to destructive
release and actions. Creativity includes the use of color, humor and freedom to enhance
productivity. Creativity is fun. When people enjoy what they do, it is involvement. They work
much harder.

Spirituality in the Workplace

Building spirituality in the workplace: Spirituality is promoted in the workplace by

adhering to the following activities:

1. Verbally respect the individuals as humans and recognize their values in all decisions
and actions.
2. Get to know the people with whom you work and know what is important to them.
Know their goals, desires, and dreams too.
3. State your personal ethics and your beliefs clearly.
4. Support causes outside the business.
5. Encourage leaders to use value-based discretion in making decisions.
6. Demonstrate your own self-knowledge and spirituality in all your actions.
7. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you .

Spirituality for Corporate Excellence

The spiritual traits to be developed for excellence in corporate activities are listed as
follows:

1. Self-awareness Realization of self-potential. A human has immense capability but it

needs to be developed.
2. Alertness in observation and quickness in decision making, i.e., spontaneity which
includes quick reflexes, no delay but also no hasty decisions.
3. Being visionary and value based This includes an attitude towards future of the
organization and the society, with clear objectives.
4. Holism Whole system or comprehensive views and interconnected with different
aspects. Holistic thinking, which means the welfare of the self, family, organization and
the society including all other living beings and environment.
5. Compassion Sympathy, empathy and concern for others. These are essential for not
only building the team but also for its effective functioning.
6. Respect for diversity It means search for unity in diversity i.e., respect others and
their views.
7. Moral Autonomy It means action based on rational and moral judgment. One need
not follow the crowd or majority i.e., band-wagon effect.
8. Creative thinking and constant reasoning Think if we can do something new and if we
can improve further?
9. Ability to analyze and synthesize Refrain from doing something only traditional.
 10. Positive views of adversity Make adversities ones source of powera typical Karma
yogis outlook! Every threat is converted into opportunity.
11. Humility the attitude to accept criticism (it requires courage!) and willing to correct. It
includes modesty and acknowledging the work of colleagues.
12. Sense of vocation Treat the duty as a service to society, besides your organization.

Introduction to Yoga and meditation for professional excellence and stress management

Stress:

Stress is simply a reaction to a stimulus that disturbs our physical or mental equilibrium.

What is stress?

Stress is often described as a feeling of being overloaded, wound-up tight, tense and worried. We all
experience stress at times. It can sometimes help to motivate us to get a task finished, or perform well.
But stress can also be harmful if we become over-stressed and it interferes with our ability to get on
with our normal life for too long.

What are the signs of stress?

When we face a stressful event, our bodies respond by activating the nervous system and releasing
hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones cause physical changes in the body which
help us to react quickly and effectively to get through the stressful situation. This is sometimes called
the fight or flight response. The hormones increase our heart rate, breathing, blood pressure,
metabolism and muscle tension. Our pupils dilate and our perspiration rate increases.

While these physical changes help us try to meet the challenges of the stressful situation, they can cause
other physical or psychological symptoms if the stress is ongoing and the physical changes dont settle
down.

These symptoms can include:

o Headaches, other aches and pains

o Sleep disturbance, insomnia
o Upset stomach, indigestion, diarrhoea
o Anxiety
o Anger, irritability
o Depression Fatigue
o Feeling overwhelmed and out of control
o Feeling moody, tearful
o Difficulty concentrating
o Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
 o High blood pressure
o Weakened immune system
o Heart disease

Types of stress:

Acute stress:

Sometimes stress can be brief, and specific to the demands and pressures of a particular situation, such
as a deadline, a performance or facing up to a difficult challenge or traumatic event. This type of stress
often gets called acute stress.

Episodic acute stress:

Some people seem to experience acute stress over and over. This is sometimes referred to as episodic
acute stress. These kind of repetitive stress episodes may be due to a series of very real stressful
challenges, for example, losing a job, then developing health problems, followed by difficulties for a
child in the school setting. For some people, episodic acute stress is a combination of real challenges and
a tendency to operate like a stress machine. Some people tend to worry endlessly about bad things
that could happen, are frequently in a rush and impatient with too many demands on their time, which
can contribute to episodic acute stress.

Chronic stress:

The third type of stress is called chronic stress. This involves ongoing demands, pressures and worries
that seem to go on forever, with little hope of letting up. Chronic stress is very harmful to peoples
health and happiness. Even though people can sometimes get used to chronic stress, and may feel they
do not notice it so much, it continues to wear people down and has a negative effect on their
relationships and health.

Yoga

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means "to join" or "to yoke".

Yoga is a practical aid, not a religion. Yoga is an ancient art based on a harmonizing system of
development for the body, mind, and spirit. The continued practice of yoga will lead you to a
sense of peace and well-being, and also a feeling of being at one with their environment. This is
a simple definition.

The practice of yoga makes the body strong and flexible, it also improves the functioning of the
respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and hormonal systems. Yoga brings about emotional stability
and clarity of mind.
Different types of yoga and their benefits

Yoga involves Eight Basic Principles

1. Yama means restraint and involves following characteristics such as

ahmisa(compassion for all), satya( truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing) and
brahmacharya (celibacy or regulated sex life).

2. Niyamas means observances and involves: hri (remorse), santosha (contentment),

dana(giving alms), astikya (having faith in the guru), ishvarapujana (worshipping the
Lord), siddhanta shravana (studying scriptures), mati (to develop ones spiritual will),
vrata (sacred vows), japa (reciting mantras daily), and tapas (endurance).

3. Asanas mean postures.

4. Pranayama means controlled breathing.

5. Pratyahara means withdrawal of senses.

6. Dharana means collection and concentration of the mind.

7. Dhyani means meditation.

8. Samadhi means absorption and is the state of consciousness induced by complete

meditation.

Yoga creates a balance between the mind, spirit and body and is said to cure unending illnesses
like insomnia, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, indigestion, liver problem, depression,
thyroid disorders and migraine.

Different Types of Yoga

There are more than twenty different types of yoga that are been practised around the world.
Some of them have been developed a few decades ago while a few have always been a part of
yoga history.

Ananda Yoga is of the most eclectic type of yoga that uses two basic principles of yoga; asanas
and pranayam, to control the prana and chakras of a person to harmonize the body and uplift
the mind. It aims to regulate a person with a greater level of consciousness. Silent affirmations
are used in this form of yoga to reach higher awareness.
Though it involves asanas, Ananda yoga is more internal and prepares one for deeper
meditation. This yoga embraces the energization exercises of Paramahansa Yogananda, based
on Kriya yoga, which implies that a person uses his life energy around the six spinal centres.

Anusara Yoga was established as recent as 1997. The term anusara means flowing with grace.
This yoga has enjoyed popularity in the USA and has also found followers in Europe and Asia
over the years.

Anusara Yoga was founded by John Friend, an American. Prior to Anusara, John was associated
with Iyengar yoga. Anusara yoga focuses on the positions and uses props. The classes of
Anusara Yoga are said to be very light hearted and fun.

Ashtanga Yoga focuses on breathing while doing asanas. It involves calm breathing with a series
of postures. The process produces a lot of sweat, generating heat which purifies organs,
improves circulation and also calms the mind. Since a lot of muscle contraction is involved in
Ashtanga yoga, its sessions always end with Savasana, also known as the corpse pose to loosen
the muscles.
This style of yoga depends a lot on the focussing ability of the practitioner. Since this yoga can
be physically draining, women are advised to avoid this type of yoga, during the first three
crucial days of their menstruation.

Ashtanga yoga was originally a self- practice yoga, also called Mysore style. Every person
practicing this yoga moves according to his or her own comfort and speed. Today, however,
there are very few places where Ashtanga yoga is taught in the Mysore style.

Bikram Yoga is named after Bikram Choudhary who founded this type of yoga. It contains 26
postures that the yogi Bikram selected from Hatha yoga. These postures work on every part of
the body, rejuvenating every cell. A lot of institutes also use heat to make your body flexible to
perform yoga. Through the sweat, impurities inside the body are flushed out.
Hatha yoga was developed as a tool to help meditate. This yoga helps the body attain stillness
that is involved in the process of meditation. This yoga aligns the muscles, skin and bones-
specially the spine, so that the universal energy is allowed to flow freely.

Hatha yoga is called a stress reducing exercise by many. Hatha yoga primarily focuses on the
preservation of the life force in humans, which is believed to be semen in men and menstrual
fluid in women. It is believed that this physical essence is flowing out of the store in the head.
Hatha yoga uses Viparita karani also called the reverser position, which involves standing
upside down on the head, and using the force of gravity to keep the essence in the head.
Hatha Yoga is Quite Popular Among the Masses.

Integral yoga is based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, that the whole world is one being and
is conscious. Through yoga, Sri Aurobindo taught people to gain what he called the
Supramental Truth Consciousness, which helps them get rid of their animal instincts and
evolves them into a divine race. There are several layers of consciousness before one achieves
the Supramental Truth, therefore this yoga is a long process- not in terms of the everyay
activity, but the span of the activity over a period of time. The main aim of this yoga is self
development.

Ishta Yoga was founded by Yogiraj Alan Finger more than four decades ago. Ishta yoga aims at
self development. Ishta is an abbreviation for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and
Ayurveda. Rather than having rigid process and compulsory asanas, Ishta yoga can be made
into a more personalized experience by the doer, choosing a practice which is customized
according to the suitability of the doer.

Iyengar Yoga was developed by B K S Iyengar, who passed away recently. Iyengar systematized
200 Yogaasanas and 14 different types of Pranayamas. The asanas of Iyengar yoga allow the
use of props to facilitate everyone to perform asanas without difficulty. The student is allowed
to perform pranayama only when he has mastered the asanas. The regular practise of asanas
and pranayama helps an individual physiologically, mentally, physically and spiritually.

Jivamukti Yoga was founded in 1984 by David Life and Sharon Gannon in New York. Jivamukti
yoga is very intense. Every session of Jivamukti focuses on a theme. Every workout of Jivamukti
Yoga involves chants and philosophy. One has to have knowledge of Shastra (religious Sanskrit
scripture of yoga), Bhakti (devoting oneself to God), Ahimsa (non-violence), Nada (chanting and
music) and Dhyana (meditation).
Tri Yoga revolves around asana, pranayama and mudra. Triyoga is marked by very free flowing
spinal movements.

As the students achieve harmony between the body, breathing and the mudra, they experience
the flow of prana.
Triyoga was founded by Kaliji also known as Kali Ray.

Kripalu Yoga was founded by Amrit Desai who was inspired by Sri Kripalvananda. This yoga lays
great emphasis on meditation and breathing pace. It focuses on prana or the flow of energy
attuned, by reaching a more unclogged state of mind and body.

Kundalini Yoga was developed more than 50 million years ago in India. But it gained
prominence in the west through Yogi Bhajan in 1969. Kundalini means coiled, and is said to be a
power which is coiled up in the lower end of spine. Once it is awakened, it empowers its
practitioners with extraordinary perceptions and abilities. It is also one of the few yoga
techniques that dont prohibit sex. This is one of the different types of yoga that people do not
know about, as it not as popular as the rest.
Power Yoga is more a style yoga, modelled to attract westerners to the concept of yoga. The
term was coined in the 1990s and the yoga was modelled on the lines of Ashtanga yoga. Unlike
yoga, power yoga doesnt adhere to poses, but is more like a workout. It doesnt involve
chanting and meditation. It is but one of the recent additions in the different types of yoga that
was supposed to draw more people to the concept of yoga.

Restorative yoga uses props to attain overall relaxation. There are many asanas for the overall
body, but what is unique to restorative yoga is that some asansas are focused on specific
organs of the body.

Sivananda Yoga involves yogic breathing and relaxation at regular intervals while performing
asanas. It is based on the five philosophies of asana, pranayama, sava asana, vegetarianism and
dhyana-vedanta.
Svaroopa Yoga focuses on releasing the tension in the spine muscles through various yoga
poses. It emphasises on releasing blockages in the body. Unlike many other yoga types which
make use of Shava asana at the end of poses and some at regular intervals, Svaroopa yoga
starts with the Shava asana.

Viniyoga involves achieving a balance between the breathing pattern and spine movements. It
is believed that Viniyoga is very effective in relieving one from back aches. Vinyasa yoga also
involves performing asanas in sync with your breathing. Thats why Vinyasa yoga is also one of
the different types of yoga that is called Vinyasa flow yoga. Rather than having strict asanas and
poses to adhere to, Vinyasa yoga is very flexible and depends on the individual nature of the
teacher or the instructor. Vinyasa yoga is said to be good practice for yoga beginners.

White Lotus yoga is an amalgamation of asanas and pranayama meditation.

Yin yoga is a more elongated version of yoga, where yoga asanas and poses are held for a
longer time. It aims to affect the ligaments, joints and bones of the body rather than affecting
the muscular tissues of the body. It is a more meditative yoga.

Benefits of Yoga

All round Fitness:

Yoga asanas help you stay free from diseases, not just because of their organ specific asanas
but also due to the meditation and pranayama practices. Adhi Mukho Svasana is a great asana
for overall health.

Flexibility:
Yoga asanas are very complex and that is why they can only be mastered over a period of time.
Though it is no child play at first, once you do master the various asanas of yoga, your body
becomes very flexible and agile. Asanas such as Uttanasana, Paschimottanasana, Supta Badda
Konasana, Sucirandhrasana, Utthita Parsvakonasana and Virabhadrasana help attain flexibility.

Stress Relief:

Yoga is designed for the overall happiness of humans. While asanas tend to the physical bliss of
the body, meditation and pranayama can help relieve stress. Focusing on the breathing helps
your mind shift attention and gain a larger perspective of your own life. Breathing exercises like
Kapalabhati and Bhastrika, and asanas such as Malasana (Garland pose), Sarvangasana
(Shoulder stand), help in stress relief.
Weight Loss:

Since yoga involves a lot of stretching and unusual poses, the fat that otherwise gets
accumulated in various parts of the body gets burnt out through yoga. Various asanas such as
Ardha Chandraasana, Veerbhadrasana, Utkatasana, Vrksasana, Uttanasana, Surya namaskar,
Ardha Matsyendrasana, Badhakonasana, Kumbhakasana, Halasana, Setubandhasana etc. help
in reducing weight.

Good Posture:

Since one is required to sit in a proper posture in asanas, the overall posture of the body also
gets better. With the tension in the muscles and primarily in the spine, (which is a problem area
for many) reduced and eventually gone, people are able to maintain a perfect posture for their
bodies.

Glowing Skin:

Due to limitless intake of junk food and stress, people start to age before their time. Asanas
help in reducing wrinkles, pimples and are also effective for the old. Yoga also helps in bowel
movements, which results in better skin. Performing the Kapal Bhati breathing technique also
helps to attain glowing skin.

Better Blood Flow:

With improper blood flow, a lot of people experience swelling in various parts of their body.
The breathing exercises of yoga help the oxygen reach the blood and also helps in keeping
blood pressure normal.

Better Immunity:

Yoga also helps in developing a better immune system. Since various yoga postures directly
heal cells, tissues and organs, asanas such as Matsyasana, Ustrasana, Dhanurasana, Adho
Mukha Svanasana and many others help in achieving better immunity.

While yoga practice is picking up worldwide, a lot of people are still stuck to their treadmill
routine. Yoga, unlike any other form of exercise has helped many people battle deadly chronic
diseases, and has also cured paralysis!

There are so many types of yoga available today. This means that one just has to chose the type
of yoga more in sync with ones lifestyle and what one wants to achieve and bask in all its
benefits.
Meditation

Meditation is a practice where an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of

consciousness, either to realize some benefit or for the mind to simply acknowledge its content
without becoming identified with that content, or as an end in itself.

Types of Meditation

The different types of meditation help keep your body and mind healthy. Meditative practices
have existed for centuries and since the last couple of decades, the use of meditation has
increased due to the rise of interest about the teaching of the eastern cultures and the stress
and anxiety of modern life.

Beside a practice for spiritual growth or a way to enlightment, people also use meditation with
specific purposes such as:

meditation for anxiety

meditation for pain relief

The different types of meditation techniques that have evolved from Hinduism, Christianity,
and Buddhism can be classified under five categories:

1. Concentration

2. Reflective Meditation

3. Mindfulness Meditation

4. Heart-Centered Meditation

5. Creative Meditation

Concentration Meditation

Concentration is at the heart of all the types of meditation, but in some techniques, focus is
predominantly on building concentration. Why is concentration so important?

This is because in order to gain the fruits of meditation, you need to train the mind to
concentrate and focus on an object or nothingness, that is to cut all distractions. This allows
your mind to be calm and awaken beyond thought elaboration and even beyond your sense of
self. Once you hold this view of awareness, you can use it for your wellness and for the greater
good. It is more correct to say that it affects positively all the beings, yourself included.
There are several types of meditation techniques in concentration meditation category that can
help you overcome distractions within and outside your mind and sustain mental focus. The
different types of techniques that will help you gain concentration include:

1. Zen meditation

2. Transcendental Meditation

3. Om meditation

4. Shine Meditation or Samadhi

5. Chakra Meditation

Reflective Meditation

Reflective meditation is also known as analytical meditation and refers to disciplined thinking.
In order to successfully practice reflective meditation, you will need to choose a question,
theme, or topic and focus your analysis or reflection upon it. Initially, your thoughts may
wander to other topics but then you need to train your mind to come back to the topic in
question. In order to do this, you need to learn concentration meditation first.

As you practice this every day, your mind will be more in control and not wander off. It is one
of the most important types of meditation and is considered to have a calming effect on the
mind. It stimulates transformative power and provides you with great conviction and strength
to change the course of your life.

There are different types of questions or reflective ideas that you can focus on, such as:

1. Who am I?

2. What is the true purpose of my life?

3. What is my role in this universe?

4. How can I help remove the sufferings of others?

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is one the most powerful and alternative meditation techniques, which
lays emphasis on cultivating a highly receptive mindful attention toward any action or objects
within your sphere of influence.
Mindfulness meditation is one of the important meditation types that help you learn a simple
thing: to pay attention or be "mindful". This type of meditation is known to provide pain relief
and help for those suffering from anxiety and depression. There are different types of
techniques in this category that you can practice, like:

1. Vipassana meditation

2. Deep breathing meditation

3. Body scan meditation

4. Visualization meditation

5. Mindful breathing

6. Mindful eating

7. Sitting Meditation

8. Walking Meditation

Heart-Centered Meditation

Heart-centered meditation will help you release all your fears and sadness and bathe in the
radiance of loving kindness and compassion. It is also known as the heart chakra meditation.
Practicing this meditation over a period of time will help you to heal your heart and that of
others.

This meditation technique helps in opening the heart chakra and removes any negative energy
that exists. In order to practice this meditation technique, choose a quiet place, set the right
posture and focus on the heart area while inhaling and exhaling slowly but smoothly. You can
also connect your heart to the heart of a teacher or a person you feel that is compassionate.
This is considered as one of the important types of meditation techniques.

Creative Meditation or Visualization

A different type of meditation technique, this form of meditation will enable you to consciously
cultivate as well as strengthen different qualities of your mind. It focuses on strengthening
qualities, such as appreciation, joy, compassion, patience, empathy, love, gratitude,
compassion, humility, fearlessness, and tenderness, among others.
 Unit II Engineering Ethics

Senses of Engineering Ethics Variety of moral issues Types of inquiry Moral dilemmas
Moral Autonomy Kohlbergs theory Gilligans theory Consensus and Controversy Models
of professional roles - Theories about right action Self-interest Customs and Religion Uses
of Ethical Theories.

SENSES OF ENGINEERING ETHICS

The word ethics has different meanings but they are correspondingly related to each other. In
connection with that, engineering ethics has also various senses which are related to one
another.

Comparison of the senses of Ethics and Engineering Ethics

Ethics Engineering Ethics

1. Ethics is an activity which concerns with
making investigations and knowing about
moral values, finding solutions to moral issues
and justifying moral issues and justifying
moral judgments.
1. Like the ethics, engineering ethics also aims
at knowing moral values related to engineering,
finding accurate solutions to the moral
problems in engineering and justifying moral
judgments of engineering.

2. Ethics is a means of contrasting moral 2. Engineering Ethics gives a total view of the
questions from non-moral problems. moral problems and how to solve these issues
specifically related to engineering field.

3. Ethics is also used as a means of describing
the beliefs, attitudes and habits related to an
individuals or groups morality. Eg. : Ethics
given in the Bhagavat Gita or the Bible or
the Quran.
3. Engineering ethics is also using some
currently accepted codes and standards which
are to be followed by group of engineers and
engineering societies.

4. As per the definition of dictionaries moral 4. Engineering ethics also concerns with
principles is about the actions and principles discovering moral principles such as obligation,
of conduct of the people. i.e. ethical or rights and ideals in engineering and by applying
unethical. them to take a correct decision.

From these senses of Engineering ethics, one can realize that it is the study of morality.
What is morality?

The term morality concerns with (a) what ought or ought not to be done in a given
situation, (b) what is right or wrong in handling it, (c) what is good or bad about the persons,
policies and principles involved in it.

If an action is said to be morally right or a principle is said to be morally good, then they
are said to be had some moral reasons in supporting it. Moral reasons include respecting others
and ourselves, respecting the rights of others, keeping promises, avoiding unnecessary
problems to others and avoiding cheating and dishonesty, showing gratitude to others and
encourage them to work.

So, if an engineering decision is said to be a good one, it has to meet out all the
specifications. These specifications must be covered both the technical and the moral
specifications such as safety of the product, reliability, easy maintenance and the product
should be user-friendly with environment.

VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES

There are so many engineering disasters which are greater / heavier than the level of
acceptable or tolerable risk. Therefore, for finding and avoiding such cases such as nuclear plant
accident at Chernobyl (Russia), Chemical plant at Bhopal (India) where a big disaster of gas
leakage occurred in 1980, which caused many fatal accidents. In the same way, oil spills from
some oil extraction plants (the Exxon Valdez plant), hazardous waste, pollution and other
related services, natural disasters like floods, earth quake and danger from using asbestos and
plastics are some more cases for engineering disasters. These fields should be given awareness
of engineering ethics. Hence, it is essential for engineers to get awareness on the above said
disasters. They should also know the importance of the system of engineering.

When malfunction of the system is a rapid one, the disaster will be in greater extent and
can be noticed immediately. When they ate slow and unobserved, the impact is delayed. So,
the engineers should not ignore about the functions of these systems.

These cases also explain and make the engineers to be familiar with the outline of the
case in future and also about their related ethical issues.
Approaches to Engineering Ethics:

i. Micro-Ethics: This approach stresses more about some typical and everyday problems which
play an important role in the field of engineering and in the profession of an engineer.

ii. Macro-Ethics: This approach deals with all the social problems which are unknown and
suddenly burst out on a regional or national level.

So, it is necessary for an engineer to pay attention on both the approaches by having a
careful study of how they affect them professionally and personally. The engineers have to
tolerate themselves with the everyday problems both from personal and societal point of view.

Where and How do Moral Problems arise in Engineering?

Any product or project has to undergo various stages such as planning, idea, design, and
manufacturing which is followed by testing, sales and services. This has to be done by engineers
of various branches like Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical etc. These engineers may be
grouped together as a team or they may be separated from each other with an interconnection
or co-ordination.

Inspite of the engineers full attention and care, sometimes the product or project may
be unsafe or less useful. This may be due to some reasons 1) The product or project may be
designed for early obsolescence or 2) due to under pressure because of running out of time,
budgetary etc or 3) by ignorance on the size of the project, or 4) because of the large number of
a products sold on the mass market, people may be affected.

Some cases with which different areas covered by engineering ethics:

1. An inspector finds a faulty part in the manufacture of a machine, which prevents the use of
that machine for a longer period. But his superior, takes this as a minor mistake and orders that
the faulty part to be adjusted so that the delay in the process has to be avoided. But the
inspector doesnt want this and so he is threatened by the supervisor.

2. An electronic company applies for a permit to start a Nuclear Power Plant. When the
licensing authority comes for visit, they enquire the company authorities on the emergency
measures that have been established for safety of the surroundings. The engineers inform them
about the alarm system and arrangements have been made in local hospitals for the treatment
of their employees and they have no plan for the surrounding people. They also inform that it is
the responsibility of the people.

3. A Yarn Dyeing company which dumps its wastes in the nearby river. It causes heavy damage
to the people those who are using the river. The plant engineers are aware of this, but they do
not change the disposal method because their competitors also doing similarly as it happen to
be a cheaper. They also say that it is the responsibility of the local government.

The above given examples clearly explain how the ethical problems arise most often
because of wrong judgments and expectations of engineers. These necessitate for establishing
some codes of conduct which has to be imposed on engineers decisions on the basis of ethical
view.

TYPES OF INQUIRY

Inquiry means an investigation. Like general ethics, engineering ethics also involves
investigations into values, meaning and facts. These inquiries in the field of engineering ethics
are of three types.

1. Normative Inquiries

2. Conceptual Inquiries

3. Factual or Descriptive Inquiries

Normative Inquiries

These inquiries are mostly helpful to identify the values which guide the individuals and
groups in taking a decision. These are meant for identifying and justifying some norms and
standards of morally desirable nature for guiding individuals as well as groups. In most of the
cases, the normative questions are given below:

1. How do the obligations of engineers protect the public safety in given situations?

2. When should an engineer have to alarm their employers on dangerous practices?

3. Where are the laws and organizational procedures that affect engineering practice on moral
issues?

4. Where are the moral rights essential for engineers to fulfill their professional obligations?

From these questions, it is clear that normative inquiries also have the theoretical goal of
justifying moral judgments.

Conceptual Inquiries

These are meant for describing the meaning of concepts, principles, and issues related
to Engineering Ethics. These inquiries also explain whether the concepts and ideas are
expressed by single word or by phrases. The following are some of the questions of conceptual
inquiries:

1. What is the safety and how it is related to risk?

2. What does it mean when codes of ethics say engineers should protect the safety, health and
welfare of the public?

3. What is a bribe?

4. What is a profession and professional?

Factual / Descriptive Inquiries

These help to provide facts for understanding and finding solutions to value based
issues. The engineer has to conduct factual inquiries by using scientific techniques. These help
to provide information regarding the business realities such as engineering practice, history of
engineering profession, the effectiveness of professional societies in imposing moral conduct,
the procedures to be adopted when assessing risks and psychological profiles of engineers. The
information about these facts provide understanding and background conditions which create
moral problems. These facts are also helpful in solving moral problems by using alternative
ways of solutions.

These types of inquiries are said to be complementary and interrelated. Suppose an

engineer wants to tell a wrong thing in an engineering practice to his superiors, he has to
undergo all these inquiries and prepare an analysis about the problem on the basis of moral
values and issues attached to that wrong thing. Then only he can convince his superior.
Otherwise his judgment may be neglected or rejected by his superior.

MORAL DILEMMAS

Why study engineering ethics?

Engineering ethics is not only teaching moral behaviour in knowing about immoral and
amoral in a set of beliefs, but also increasing the ability of engineers and other professionals to
face boldly with the moral problems arising from technological advancements, changes and
other related activities. This can be possible be imparted among the engineers, only through
college courses, seminars, etc. which are involved individual study.

Moral Dilemmas

Dilemmas are certain kind of situations in which a difficult choice has to be made.
 Moral dilemmas can also be called moral problems. Moral dilemmas have two or more
foldings - moral obligations, duties, rights, goods or ideals come into disagreement with each
other. One moral principle can have two or more conflicting applications for a particular given
situation. Moral dilemmas can be occurred in so many ways. For example, suppose one gives a
promise to his friend that he will meet him on the evening of a particular day, but unfortunately
on the same day his brother has met with an accident and he has to take him to hospital. The
dilemma here consists of a conflict between the duty to keep promise and obligations to his
brother. In this situation, to solve his moral problem, he can make a phone call to his friend and
make apology for his inability to come. So, from the above it is clear that the duty to keep
promise always has two different and conflicting applications.

The moral dilemmas cannot easily be addressed or resolved always. It requires an

elaborate searching which sometimes causing extreme suffering and reflection of a situation.
The modern engineering practice compels that all the engineers have to face boldly about the
moral dilemmas in their careers.

To find a simple and clear solution to the moral problems in the field of engineering,
there must be some provision to allocate time to for learning ethics in engineering courses. But
at the same time, it should not be ignored in the following three categories of complex and
gloomy moral situations:

The Problem of Vagueness

The problem of vagueness is related to individuals. The individuals may not know how
to moral considerations or principles in resolving a moral problem at a particular situation. For
example, an engineer in a higher position of a company, is responsible and having the sole right
to make purchases on his own and behalf of the company. There may be many suppliers for
supplying materials. In this situation, a sales representative from one of the suppliers
approaches him with a moderating gift. In this case, the engineer may have some doubts like (i)
whether this is an acceptance of a bribe? (ii) Does it create a conflict of interest? The solution is
only with that engineer. He can also discuss with his colleagues about the problem. The
colleague may find the solution on the basis of previous experiences, - it may not be a kind of
bribe, but at the same time it should not be encouraged in future because there is the
possibility of supplying substandard materials. It is difficult to arrive at the conclusion whether
the gift is an innocent amenity or an unacceptable bribe.

The problems of Conflicting reasons

These occur more frequently. In a difficult situation of a moral problem, an individual

may clearly know about what moral principle has to be applied to resolve the problem. When it
arises, there are two or more principles with clear solutions lead into conflict with one another
or one particular moral principle. Simultaneously there can be of two different directions. In
this case, that individual has to choose a better one among them on the basis of the importance
and the applicability. For example, an engineer has given a promise to his employer and
another one to a colleague. If it is difficult to fulfill both the promises, he can drop off one
promise which is of least importance. If he explains the situations to his colleagues, it can be
understood.

The problems of disagreement

The individuals and groups in engineering companies may disagree with resolving moral
problems in difficult situations. The disagreement will be normally about how to interpret,
apply and balance the moral problems. In this situation they have to use the following steps to
resolve the problems.

Steps / Procedures in facing / confronting moral dilemmas

All the above said three problems pave the way for the need of several steps in
resolving the moral dilemmas. All the steps are interrelated and they can also be used jointly.

1) Identifying the relevant moral factors and reasons: i.e. Finding solutions for (i) the
conflicting responsibilities (ii) the competing rights and (iii) the clashing ideals involved.

2) Collecting and gathering all the available facts which are relevant to the moral factors
while resolving.

3) Ranking the moral considerations or principles on the basis of importance as

applicable to the situation. But sometimes it is not possible when the objective is to find a way
to meet equally urgent responsibilities and to promote equally important ideals.

4) Considering alternative courses of action for resolving the problems and tracing the
full implications of each. i.e. conducting factual inquiries.

5) Having talked with the colleagues, friend about the problem getting their suggestions
and alternative ideas on resolving that dilemma and

6) Arriving at a careful and reasonable judgment or solution by taking into consideration

of all important moral factors and reasons on the basis of the facts or truths. But it seems to be
difficult.

To conclude the study of Engineering Ethics can help in developing the skills and
attitudes to follow the above steps in resolving a moral problem among the engineers and
other professionals by means of case studies, class room discussions and debating.
MORAL AUTONOMY

Meaning and Causes

Autonomy means self-governing or self-determining i.e act independently. Moral autonomy

means the right or the wrong conduct which is of independent on ethical issues. It deals with
the improvement of an individuals moral thoughts which make hi to adopt good habits. Moral
autonomy is concerned with the independent attitude of a person related to ethical issues. It
helps to improve the self-determination among the individuals.

The need for moral autonomy in the field of engineering ethics

The objectives of engineering ethics are not related to implanting particular moral
beliefs on engineers. In other way they help the engineers and other professionalists to
strength their professional values such as honesty, respect the colleagues and think for the
welfare of the general public. Though the above said values have been already in the minds of
the engineers, engineering ethics helps to improve these qualities in a better manner among
the engineers, and not inculcating newly. The structural objective of engineering ethics is to be
enable the individuals to understand the moral responsibilities in a clear and careful manner.
So, the main aim of studying engineering ethics is to increase the moral autonomy within him.

Moral autonomy is a skill and habit of thinking ethical problems in a rational manner.
These ethical issues are to be found out on the basis of moral problems. These general
responsiveness of moral values are derived only from the training what we have received as a
child with response to the sensitive and right of others and ourselves. Suppose the training is
not given in the childhood itself, those children may be illtreated or neglected by the society.
These children in future may grow up with lack of senses on moral issues and they become as
sociopaths. They are never morally autonomous. They wont regret for their mistakes and
wrong doings.

These moral concerns can be initiated or imparted among the engineers, mainly
engineers of various subjects and also by the way of their friends, or by social events occurring
around them or by books and movies. So the main aim of all the courses of Applied Ethics is
only to improve their abilities in order to face the moral issues critically. This can only be
achieved by improving the practical skills which are helping in producing effective independent
or self-determination thoughts among the individuals about the moral problems.

Skills for improving moral autonomy

1. The engineers must have the competence for identifying the moral problems and ethical
issues related to the field of engineering they must have the ability to distinguish and
 relate these moral problems with the problems of law, economics, religions principles
etc. They must possess the skills of understanding, clarifying and assessing the
arguments which are against the moral issues.
2. They must have the ability to suggest the solutions to moral issues, on the basis of facts.
These suggestions must be consistent and must include all the aspects of the problem.
3. They must have the imaginative skill to view the problems from all view points and also
be able to suggest a proper alternative solution.
4. They must be able to tolerate while giving moral judgments and decisions which may
cause trouble. i.e. they have to understand the difficulties in making moral decisions.
5. They must have adequate knowledge and understanding about the use of ethical
language so as to defend or support their views with others.
6. They must have some better knowledge in understanding the importance of suggestions
and better solutions while resolving moral problems and also about the importance of
tolerance on some critical situations.
7. They must understand the importance of maintaining the moral honesty i.e. the
personal convictions and beliefs and individuals professional life must be integrated.
They must have this skill of doing so.

Conclusion

From the above decisions on moral autonomy, we can conclude that moral autonomy
helps an engineer to increase his moral outlook in an appreciable manner. It also helps him to
be morally responsible in his daily activities.

KOHLBERGS THEORY

Moral Autonomy is based on the psychology of moral development. The first

psychological theory was developed by Jean Piaget. On the basis of Piagets theory, Lawrence
kohlberg developed three main levels of moral development which is based on the kinds of
reasoning and motivation adopted by individuals with regard to moral questions.

The Pre Conventional Level

It is nothing but self-centered attitude. In this level, right conduct is very essential for an
individual which directly benefits him. According to this level, individuals are motivated by their
willingness to avoid punishment, or by their desire to satisfy their own needs or by the
influence of the power exerted by them. This level is related to the moral development of
children and some adults who never want to go beyond a certain limit.
The Conventional Level

The level deals with the respect for conventional rules and authority. As per this level
the rules and norms of ones family or group or society has been accepted as the final standard
of morality. These conventions are regarded as correct, because they represent with authority.
When individuals are under this level, always want to please/satisfy others and also to meet the
expectations of the society and not their selfinterest. Loyalty and close identification with
others have been given much importance. No adult tries to go beyond this level.

The Post Conventional Level

This level is said to be attained when an individual recognizes the right and the wrong
on the basis of a set of principles which governing rights and the general good which are not
based on self-interest or social conventions. These individuals are called autonomous,
because they only think for themselves and also they do not agree that customs are always
correct. They want to live by general principles which are universally applied to all people. They
always want to maintain their moral integrity, self-respect and the respect for other
autonomous peoples.

Kohlbergs theory of moral development is very much related to the goals of studying
ethics at college level. To become morally responsible, an individual must be able and willing to
undergo with moral reasoning. Moral responsibility comes out of the foundation of early moral
training given by an individuals parents and culture. This early training helps to complete the
above said three levels of moral development by an individual.

As per Kohlbergs view only few people would reach the post conventional level which is
based on assumption that movement towards autonomous is morally desirable.

GILLIGANS THEORY

Gilligans argument

Caorl Gilligan was one of the students of Kohlberg. She criticizes Kohlbergs theory on
the basis of approached made by both male and female towards morality. On the basis of her
studies and researches, she criticizes Kohlbergs theory which is only based on male bias and his
studies are of typically male preoccupation with general rules and rights.

She also suggest that men are always more interested in resolving moral dilemmas by
applying some most important moral rules. But women always want to keep up the personal
relationship with all those involved in a situation and they always give attention only on the
circumstances responsible for that critical situation and not on general moral rules.
 She also states that Kohlbergs theory is only on ethics of rules and rights. But her theory
is known as ethics of care. i.e. context oriented emphasis required to maintain the personal
relationship.

Levels of Moral Development

Gilligan recasts Kohlbergs three levels of moral development on the basis of her own
studies of women, as follows:

The Pre-Conventional Level

This is more over the same as Kohlbergs first level i.e. Right conduct is a selfish thing as
solely one what is good for oneself.

The Conventional Level

This level differs from Kohlbergs second level. According to her, women dont want to
hurt others and want to help others i.e. women always want to give up their interests in order
to help the others to fulfill their needs.

The Post Conventional Level

This level is also differed from Kohlbergs level. In this level, individual (particularly
women) want to balance between caring about other people and their interests. The main aim
here is to balance an individuals needs with those of others on the basis of mutual caring. This
can be achieved only through context-oriented reasoning and not by abstract rules.

Heinzs Dilemma

Gilligans criticism on the Kohlbergs theory can be made very clear with the help of a
famous example used by Kohlberg in his questionaries and interviews. This is called Heinzs
Dilemma.

This example was about a woman and Heinz, her husband living in Europe. The woman
was affected by cancer. The doctors told her to use an expensive drug to save her life. The
pharmacist who also invented that medicine charged ten times the cost of making the drug.
Besides his poverty, Heinz took a lot of effort to borrow money, but he could get only half of
the amount needed. He approached to the pharmacist and begged him to sell the medicine at a
cheaper price or allow him to pay for it later. But the pharmacist refused to do so. Finally,
without any hope, Heinz forcibly entered into the pharmacy and stolen the drug. The question
here is Was the theft morally right or wrong?
 By asking this question among the male, Kohlberg has received two sets of answers: One
is based on the conventional level i.e. Heinz did a wrong thing. Another one is based on the
post conventional level i.e,Heinz was correct as the life of the wife is more important than the
property right of the pharmacist.

But when the same question was asked among the women, they gave (all women) same
answers. They replied that Heinz was wrong. They further told that instead of stealing the
medicine, Heinz could have tried other alternative solutions. They also told that Heinz should
have convinced still the pharmacist to get the medicine.

From the above, Kohlberg concluded that womens decisions are always based on
conventional rule and they always have different opinions in applying the general moral rules
and principles about the right to live.

On the basis of the Kohlbergs comment on the women, Gilligan came to a different
conclusion. She tells that it shows greater sensitivity to people and personal relationships. She
concluded that the decision taken by women is context-oriented and not on the basis of
general rules ranked inorder of priority.

Now, the question here is, how Gilligans theory of moral development relates to moral
autonomy as a goal of studying ethics at the college level?

Autonomy requires independent reasoning on the basis of moral concern and not
separated from other people. As per Gilligans theory and Kohlbergs theory, moral autonomy
should be consistent with context-oriented and also with an awareness of general moral
principles and rights.

CONSENSUS AND CONTROVERSY

Consensus means agreement and controversy means disagreement. The consensus

and the controversies are playing the vital roles while considering the moral autonomy.

When an individual exercises the moral autonomy, he cannot get the same results as
others get in applying moral autonomy. Surely there must be some moral differences i.e. the
results or verdicts will be of controversy. This kind of disagreements is unavoidable. These
disagreements require some tolerances among individuals those who are autonomous,
reasonable and responsible.

As per the principle of tolerance, the goal of teaching engineering ethics is not merely
producing an agreed conformity on applying moral principles among engineers but also to
reveal the ways of promoting tolerances to apply moral autonomy.
 Both the goals of engineering ethics and the goals of engineering courses have some
similarities. These similarities have to be extended with the help of exercising authority. For
example, in the class room, the teachers are having the authority over students and in the work
place, the managers are having the authority over engineers.

There are two general points regarding the relationship between autonomy and
authority with reference to the class room:

1) Moral autonomy and respect for the authority cannot be differentiated or separated
from each other. Moral autonomy is exercised on the basis of moral concern for other people
and also recognition of good moral reasons. Authority provides for the framework in which
learning can take place. It is based on the acceptance of authority by both the students and the
professors. Without this acceptance, the classes cannot be conducted in a smooth way. On the
other hand, cheating will be encouraged and the trust between faculty and the students may be
reduced to some extent. These kind of deviations are due to the absence of moral views and
respect for authority. They must be coincide with each other.

2) Generally a tension may arise among the individuals regarding the need for consensus about
authority and need for autonomy. This tension can be reduced by discussing openly regarding a
moral issue between students and faculty with the help of the authority.

In short, conflicts will arise between autonomy and authority, when the authority is
misused. For example, in small classes, the students are having the authority to express their
own views. But when the professor doesnt allow them to do so, he misuses his authority. This
will create some moral problems between the students and the faculty.

MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL ROLES

The main aim of the profession of engineering is to improve the public safety, wealth
and welfare. In order to perform these functions, the engineer has to play various models to
channalise his attitudes towards the achievements of objectives. They are as follows:

1. Savior

The engineers are responsible for creating an utopian society in which everything is
possible and can be achieved without much effort This can only be achieved through
technological developments made by the engineers for safeguarding the society from poverty,
inefficiency, waste and manual labour.

2. Guardian
 Engineers only know the directions through which technology will be developed. So,
they should be given position of high authority based on their expertise skills in determining
what is in the best interests of the society. They should act as guardians to the technological
improvements.

3. Bureaucratic Servant

Engineers role in the management is to be the servant who receives and translates the
directive of management into better achievements. They have to solve the problems given by
the management, within the limits set by the management.

4. Social Servant

The role of engineers is not only providing service to others but also their responsibility
to the society. The interests of the society can be expressed to the engineers either directly or
indirectly. So, the engineers, with the co-operation of the management have the work of
receiving societys directives and satisfying the desires of the society.

5. Social enabler and Catalyst

The engineer has to play a role of creating a better society and should be the cause of
making social changes. Service given by the engineers to the society includes carrying out the
social directives. Engineers are needed to help the management and the society to understand
their needs and to create decisions about technological development.

6. Game Player

We cannot say that engineers are servants or masters of anyone. They are playing the
economic game rules which may be effective at a given time. Their aim is to play successfully
within the organization enjoying the happiness of technological work and the satisfaction of
winning and moving ahead in a completive world.

THEORIES ABOUT RIGHT ACTION

There are four types of theories on ethics, which help to create the fundamental principles of
obligation suitable and applicable to professional and personal conduct of a person in his
everyday life. These theories are essential for cause of right action and morality. They are:

1. Golden mean ethics (Aristotle, 384 322 B.C.). The best solution is achieved through
reason and logic and is a compromise or golden mean between extremes of excess
 and deficiency. For example, in the case of the environment, the golden mean between
the extremes of neglect and exploitation might be protection.
Problem: Variability from one person to another in their powers of reasoning
and the difficulty in applying the theory to ethical problems.

2. Rights based ethics (John Locke, 1632 1704). Every person is free and equal and
has the right to life, health, liberty and possessions (in effect prohibiting capital
punishment, medical charges, jails and income taxes).
Problem: One persons right may be in conflict with anothers rights.

3. Duty based ethics (Immanual Kant, 1724 1804). Each person has a duty to follow a
course of action that would be universally acceptable for everyone to follow without
exception. (Thus we would all be honest, kind, generous and peaceful).
Problem: Universal application of a rule can be harmful.

4. Utilitarian ethics (John Stuart Mill, 1806 1873). The best choice is that which
produces the maximum benefit for the greatest number of people (which could
endanger minority rights).
Problem: Qualification of the benefits can be difficult.

All these theories can be differentiated on the basis of what they provide for moral
concept, good results for all, duties and human rights.

SELF INTEREST, CUSTOMS AND RELIGION

Moral justifications and principles form a distinct category of value, which are different
from other category of values. This can be more clearly by relating and contrasting moral values
to three other types of values namely self-interest, customs and religion. Focus must be made
in each case, how we can reduce morality to these types of value.

Self Interest and Ethical Egoism

Self-interest is nothing but ones personal good. It refers to the goodness of oneself in the long
run.

Each of the ethical theories recognizes the importance of self-respect. Utilitarian

considers ones own good as well as the good of others. Duty ethicists stresses duties to
ourselves and for won well-being. Ethicists of rights emphasize our rights to pursue our own
good. Virtue ethicists accent the importance of self respect.
 Each of these theories insists that the pursuit of self interest must be balanced and
kept under control by moral responsibilities to other people. Now let us consider a view called
ethical Egoism which challenges all the ethical theories and it tries to reduce morality to the
pursuit of self-interest. It is called egoism, because it says that the main duty of us is to
maximize our own good. According to Thomas Hobbes and Any Rand, moral values are reduced
to concern for oneself but always a rational concern which requires consideration of a persons
long-term interests.

The Supporters of ethical egoism make a differentiation between narrower and wider
forms of self-interest. When a person who selfishly preoccupies his own private good and
disregard, for the good of others, will be off from rewarding friendships and love. Personal well-
being generally requires taking some large interest in others. But the rational egoist insists that
the only reason for showing an interest in others is for the sake of oneself.

Ethical Egoists try to protect their positions by arguing that an ironic importance of
everyone rationally pursuing ones self-interest is that everyone get benefited. The society
benefits mostly when (i) individuals pursue their private good and (ii) corporations pursue
maximum profits in a competitive free market. The main idea here is that leads to the
improvement of economy through which benefiting everyone.

Because, both the individual and the corporation know very well that what is good for
them and how best to pursue that good.

As per ethical egoism, people should always and only pursue their self interest in a
very cautious manner to value the interest rationally on the basis of facts.

Morality essentially needs a willingness on the part of both individuals and corporations
to place some restrictions on the pursuit of private self interests. Accepting these constraints
is presupposed in what is meant by moral concern Engineering Ethics also has one task of
exhibiting the moral limits on the pursuit of self interest in the Engineering profession.

The above said remarks do not constitute a wrong proof for ethical egoism. Morality
stresses that we have to give value and we are concerned for the good of other people. Ethical
egoism is not a persuasive or probable theory to state what morality is but it is only a convinced
rejection of morality.

Customs and Ethical Relativism

As we live in a society which is of increasingly diverse nature, it is more important to

have tolerance for various customs and outlooks. Hence the concept of ethical pluralism
emerges. It views that there may be alternative moral attitudes that are reasonable. But none
of the moral perspectives can be accepted completely by all the rational and the morally
concerned persons. Ethical pluralism allows the customs which plays an important role in
deciding how we should act. Moral values are many, varied and flexible. So, these moral values
allow considerable variation in how different individuals and groups understand and apply
them in their day-today activities. In other words, to be precise, reasonable persons always
have reasonable disagreement on moral issues, including issues in engineering ethics.

Ethical Relativism, an objectionable view, should not be confused with Ethical Pluralism.
As per Ethical relativism says that actions are morally right when they are approved by law or
custom and they are said to be wrong when they violate laws or customs. Ethical relativism
tries to reduce moral values to laws, conventions and customs of societies.

What is the necessary for a person to accept ethical relativism? There are so many
reasons for accepting ethical relativism

I. The laws and customs seem to be definite, real and clear cut. They help to reduce the
endless disputes about right and wrong. Moreover, laws seem to be an objective way to
approach values. The above argument is somewhat weak. This reason underestimates
the extent to which ordinary moral reasons are sufficiently objective to make possible
criticism of individual prejudice and bias. Moreover, moral reasons allow objective
criticism of the given laws as morally inadequate. For example, the apartheid laws (racial
segregation) in south Africa. This law violated the human rights are not given any legal
protections to the majority of the blacks, but morally ought to be.
II. The second reason for accepting ethical relativism is because it believes the values are
subjective at the cultural level. They also state that the moral standards are varied from
one culture to another. The only kind of objectivity is relative to a given set of laws in a
given society. This relativity of morality encourages the virtue of tolerance of difference
among societies.

The above said argument is also confusing one. It assumes that ethical relativism is
implied by descriptive relativism. i.e., values and beliefs differ from culture to culture. There is
nothing self-certifying about the laws and beliefs. This can be explained by the following
illustration. Ethical relativism would allow that Hitler and his followers (Nazis) acted correctly
when they killed 6 million Jews, for their laws, customs, and beliefs which were based on anti
Semitism (hostile to Jews).

So, ethical relativism refers anything but for the tolerant doctrine it pretends to be. But
there is nothing tolerant in accepting Nazi beliefs about morality Admitting intolerant anti-
semitic beliefs is not an act of tolerance.
 The supporters of ethical relativism, generally say that an action is right for cultures
when believe it as the right one. i.e., it is right for them though not for us. So, beliefs,
however customary or widely shared, are not self-certifying whether we are talking about
moral beliefs or scientific beliefs.

The third reason is based on the moral relationalism or moral contextulaism. This states
that moral judgments must be made in relation to some factors which varies from case to case.
Making simple and absolute rules are impossible in this way. In most of the cases, customs and
laws are considered as morally important factors for making judgments.

All philosophers accepted this moral relationalism. But contemporary duty and right
ethicists like Kant do not accept. As per their views, respecting people require some
sensitiveness to special circumstances. The virtue ethicists stress the role of practical wisdom in
identifying the facts which are relevant to assessment of conduct based on virtual manner.

The ethical relativism was accepted by early cultural anthropologists because they had a
specified tendency to overstress the scope of moral difference between cultures. Absorbed
with unusual practices such as head hunting, human sacrifices and cannibolism (cannibal is a
person who eats human flesh); these persons who shifted their idea quickly form moral views
differ greatly to Morality is a simply a culture as such. But modern anthropologists state that
all cultures by virtual show some commitment to promote social co-operation and protect their
members against needless death and suffering. Moral differences are based only on the
circumstances and facts, not on the difference in moral attitudes. For example, we can consider
the practice of human sacrifice in the Aztecs. [Members of the former Indian people who ruled
Mexico before the 16th century]. This practice seems to be a sign of cruelty an lack of concern
for life. But a full examination of their beliefs reveal that they believed their gods are pleased by
such sacrifice to ensure the survival of their people and also it was considered an honour for
the victims. Refer to the sacrifice or placing chicken and goal to god.

Religion and Divine Command Ethics

Moral responsibilities and religious belief are interwined in many positive ways. First,
they are related historically. Our moral views have been shaped by the most known central
moral values within the major world religions. For example, the Judeo- Christian tradition has
been influential in Western countries like England, USA etc. Islam has been having a great
influence in middle east countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan etc. Confucianism has
been influential in China and Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism have been famous in Asian
countries.

Second, most of the people still having beliefs and show some important and inevitable
psychological connections between their moral and religious beliefs. Religious views frequently
support moral responsibility by providing additional motivation for being moral. Faith in
Religions or religious hopes implies trust. This trust gives an inspiration to be moral.

The main social functions of religion are motivating right action based on ethical
principles. Religion supports many people to follow their beliefs and promote tolerance and
moral concern for others. Many of the engineers are motivated by the religious beliefs.

Thirdly, religions form a set of higher moral standards. For example, Christianity
suggests for loving neighbors. Many religions include virtue ethics that stresses about particular
virtues. For example, the ethics in Christianity focuses in the virtue of hope, faith and love.
Buddhism emphasizes a feeling of pity (compassion). Islam pressures insane (being religious
and pursuit of excellence).

Sometimes, religious set standards below the level of acceptable moral standards. Some
religions do not give equal rights to women, as in Islam (particularly in Iran, Iraq). In this
situation the conflict is not only between secular morality and religion but also among other
religions.

By giving stress on the positive connections between secular morality and religion, we
go for defining Divine Command ethics. It views that right action is defined by the commands of
God, and without a belief in God there could be no moral values and if an action is said to be
wrong, it means that it is forbidden by God.

The Major difficulties in Divine Command ethics are: how to know what Gods
commands are and whether God exists or not. Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are
mostly God-centered i.e., they believe in God. But some other religions such as Buddhism,
Taoism and Confucianism calls for only faith in a right path from which code of ethics can be
derived. For example in Buddhism the right path included eight steps such as right
understanding, right intention, right intention, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness and right concentration.

Questions on the belief in God were rejected by most of he theologians, [Theology

study of God] based on the question asked by Socrates. Socrates asked why does god make
certain commands and not others? Are these commands made on the basis of sudden fancy?
The answer is surely no. Because God is supposed to be morally good and He never commands
bad acts such as irresponsible killing, rapes, tortures and other immoralities.

Suppose a man claimed that God commands him to kill people randomly without
making any religious inquiry, we can say that the main is mistaken.
 Divine Command ethics has things backwards. A morally divine being commands on the
basis of moral reasons which determine the wrongness of actions and rightness of other
actions. Moral reasons are presupposed as the foundation for making certain commands. Moral
reasons cannot force hard to religious matters. Religious beliefs provide an added inspiration
for responding to moral reasons.

USES OF ETHICAL THEORIES

Ethical theories have so many uses. Out of them, the following three are the most important
uses:

o Understanding moral dilemmas.

o Justifying professional obligations and ideas and
o Relating ordinary and professional morality
 Unit III Engineering as Social Experimentation

Introduction

Engineering as experimentation

Experimentation plays an important role in the process of designing the product. When it is
decided to change a new engineering concept into its first rough design, preliminary tests or
simulation should be conducted. Using formal experimental methods, the materials and
methods of designing are tried out. These tests may be based on more detailed designs. The
test for designing should be evolved till the final product produced. With the help of feedback
of several tests, further modification can be made if necessary. Beyond these tests and
experiments, each engineering project has to be viewed as an experiment.

Similarities to Standard Experiments

There are so many aspects, which are of virtual for combining every type of engineering works
to make it suitable to look at engineering projects as experiments. The main three important
aspects are:

1) Any engineering project or plan is put into practice with partial ignorance because while
designing a model there are several uncertainties occurred. The reason to the fact that
engineers dont have all the needed facts available well in advance before starting the
project. At some point, both the theoretical examining and the laboratory testing must
be by-passed for the sake of completing the project. Really, the success of an engineer is
based on the his talent which is exactly being the ability to succeed in achieving jobs
with only a partial knowledge of scientific laws about the nature and society.

2) The final outcomes of engineering projects are generally uncertain like that of
experiments what we do.

In engineering, in most of the cases, the possible outcomes may not be known and even
small and mild projects itself involve greater risks.

The following uncertainties occur in the model designs

 1. Model used for the design calculations
2. Exact characteristics of the material purchased.
3. Constancies of materials used for processing and fabrication.
4. About the nature of the pressure the finished product will encounter.

For instance, a reservoir may cause damage to the surroundings and affect the
ecosystem. If it leaks or breaks, the purpose will not be served. A special purpose fingerprint
reader may find its application in the identification and close observation on the disagreeing
persons with the government. A nuclear reactor may cause unexpected problems to the
surrounding population leading to a great loss to the owners. A hair dryer may give damage to
the unknowing or wrong users from asbestos insulation from its barrel.

3) Good and effective engineering depends upon the knowledge possessed about the products
at the initial and end stages.

This knowledge is very useful for increasing the effectiveness of the current products as
well as for producing better products in future. This can be achieved by keenly observing on the
engineering jobs by the way of experimentation. This monitoring is done by making periodic
observations and tests by looking at for the successful performance and the side effects of the
jobs. The tests of the products efficiency, safety, cost-effectiveness, environmental impact and
its value that depends upon the utility to the society should also be monitored. It also extends
to the stage of client use.

Learning from the past

It has been expected that the engineers have to learn not only form their own design and
the production system but also the results of others. Due to lack of communication, prejudiced
in not asking for clarification, fear of law and also mere negligence, these things can happen to
the continuation of past mistakes. The following are some of the examples:

1. The tragedy of Titanic happened because of the sufficient number of life boats. The
same disaster took place in the steamship the Arctic some years before, because of
the same problem.

2. The fall down of the Sunshine Skyline Bridge in the bay of Thamba at Sweden in 1980,
on a moving ship due to improper matching of horizontal impact forces in mind. This
could have been avoided of the engineers had known about the striking of the ships
 with the Maracaibo Bridge at Venezulea in 1964 and the Tasman Bridge of Australia in
1975.

3. The nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island on March 1979, was due to
malfunctioning of the valves. Valves though minute items, are being among the least
reliable components of hydraulic systems. It was a pressure relief valve and lack of
information about its opening or closing state contributed to a nuclear reactor accident
at Three Mile Island. This malfunction was already happened because of the same
reasons at other locations.

4. The disaster of Tettron Dam in Los Angles was due to rapid flow of water and sudden
break down. The builder didnt consider the case of the Fontenelle Dam, which was also
collapsed due to the same problem.

So, to say that engineers should not fully depend on handbooks and they should have
some review of the past cases relating to their current task.

Comparisons with standard Experiments

Engineering is entirely different from standard experiments in few aspects. Those

differences are very much helpful to find out the special responsibilities of engineers and also
help them in knowing about the moral responsibilities which are involved in engineering.

1. Experimental Control

Members for two groups should be selected in a standard experimental control, i.e
Group A and Group B. The members of the group A should be given the special experimental
treatment. The group B do not receive the same though they are in the same environment.
This group is called the control group

Though it is not possible in engineering but for the projects which are confirmed to
laboratory experiments. Because, in engineering the experimental subjects are human beings
who are out of the control of the experimenters. In engineering, the consumers have more
control as they are the selecting authority of a project. So in engineering it is impossible to
follow a random selection. An engineer has to work only with the past data available with
various groups who use the products.
 So engineering can be viewed as a natural experiment which uses human subjects. But
today, most of the engineers do not care for the above said Experimental Control.

2. Informed Consent
Engineering is closely related to the medical testing of new drugs and techniques on
human beings as it also concerned with human beings.
When new medicines have been tested, it should be informed to the persons who
undergo the test. They have moral and legal rights to know about the fact which is based on
informed consent before take part in the experiment. Engineering must also recognize these
rights. When a producer sells a new product to a firm which has its own engineering staff,
generally there will be an agreement regarding the risks and benefits form that testing.

Informed consent has two main principles such as knowledge and voluntariness.

First, the persons who are put under the experiment has to be given all the needed
information to make an appropriate decision. Second, they must enter into the experiment
without any force, fraud and deception. The experimenter has also to consider the fundamental
rights of the minorities and the compensation for the harmful effects of that experiment.

In both medicine and engineering there may be a large gap between the experimenter
and his knowledge on the difficulties of an experiment. This gap can be filled only when it is
possible to give all the relevant information needed for drawing a responsible decision on
whether to participate in the experiment or not.

In medicine, before prescribing a medicine to the patient, a responsible physician must

search for relevant information on the side effects of the drug. The hospital management must
allow him to undergo different treatments to different patients and finally the patient must be
ready to receive that information from the physician. Similarly it is possible for an engineer to
give relevant information about a product only when there is a better co-operation by the
management and quick acceptance from the customers.

The following conditions are essential for a valid informed consent

a. The consent must be given voluntarily and not by any force.

b. The consent must be based on the relevant information needed by a rational person
and should be presented in a clear and easily understandable form.
c. The consenter must be capable of processing the information and to make rational
decisions in a quick manner.
 d. The information needed by a rational person must be stated in a form to understand
without any difficulty and has to be spread widely.
e. The experimenters consent has to be offered in absentia of the experimenter by a
group which represents many experiments.

Knowledge Gained

Scientific experiments have been conducted to acquire new knowledge. Whereas

engineering projects are conducted as experiments not for getting new knowledge. Suppose
the outcomes of the experiment is best, it tells us nothing new, but merely affirms that we are
right about something. Mean while, the unexpected outcomes put us search for new
knowledge.

ENGINEERS AS RESPONSIBLE EXPERIMENTERS

The engineers have so many responsibilities for serving the society.

a. A primary duty is to protect the safety of human beings and respect their right of
consent. [A conscientious commitment to live by moral values].
b. Having a clear awareness of the experimental nature of any project, thoughtful
forecasting of its possible side effects, and an effort to monitor them reasonably. [A
comprehensive perspective or relative information].
c. Unrestricted free personal involvement in all the steps of a project. [Autonomy]
d. Being accountable for the results of a project [Accountability]
e. Exhibiting their technical competence and other characteristics of professionalism.

1. Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness implies consciousness (sense of awareness). As holding the

responsible profession with maintaining full range of moral ethics and values which are relevant
to the situation. In order to understand the given situation, its implications, knowhow, person
who is involved or affected, Engineers should have open eyes, open ears and open mind.

The present working environment of engineers narrow down their moral vision fully
with the obligations accompanied with the status of the employee. More number of engineers
are only salaried employees, so, they have to work within large bureaucracies under great
pressure to work smoothly within the company. They have to give importance only to the
obligations of their employers. Gradually, the small negative duties such as not altering data by
fraud, not violating patent right and not breaking confidentiality, may be viewed as the full
extent of moral desire.

As mentioned, engineering as social experimentation brings into light not only to the
person concerned but also to the public engineers as guardians of the public interest i.e., to
safeguard the welfare and safety of those affected by the engineering projects. This view helps
to ensure that this safety and welfare will not be affected by the search for new knowledge, the
hurry to get profits, a small and narrow follow up of rules or a concern over benefits for the
many and ignoring the harm to the few. The social experimentation that involved in
engineering should be restricted by the participants consent.

2. Relevant Information

Without relevant factual information, conscientious is not possible. For showing moral
concern there should be an obligation to obtain and assess properly all the available
information related to the fulfillment of ones moral obligations. This can be explained as:

1) To understand and grasp the circumstance of a persons work, it is necessary to know about
how that work has a moral importance. For example, A person is trying to design a good heat
exchanger. There is nothing wrong in that. But at the same time, if he forgets the fact that the
heat exchanger will be used in the manufacture of an illegal product, then he is said to be
showing a lack of moral concern. So a person must be aware of the wider implication of his
work that makes participation in a project.

2) Blurring the circumstance of a persons work derived from his specialization and division of
labor is to put the responsibilities on someone else in the organization. For example if a
company produces items which are out of fashion or the items which promotes unnecessary
energy wastage, then it is easy to blame sales department.

The above said means, neglecting the importance of a persons works also makes it
difficult in acquiring a full perspective along a second feature of factual information i.e.,
consequence of what one does.
So, while giving regard to engineering as social experimentation points out the
importance of circumstances of a work and also encourages the engineers to view his
specialized activities in a project as a part of a large social impact.
 3. Moral Autonomy

This refers to the personal involvement in ones activities. People are morally autonomous
only when their moral conduct and principles of actions are their own i.e., genuine in ones
commitment to moral values.
Moral beliefs and attitudes must be integrated into an individuals personality which leads
to a committed action. They cannot be agreed formally and adhered to merely verbally. So, the
individual principles are not passively absorbed from others. When he is morally autonomous
and also his actions are not separated from himself.

When engineering have seen as a social experimentation, it helps to keep a sense of

autonomous participation in a persons work. An engineer, as an experimenter, is undergoing
training which helps to form his identity as a professional. It also results in unexpected
consequence which helps to inspire a critical and questioning attitudes about the current
economic and safety standards. This also motivates a greater sense of personal involvement in
a persons work.

4. Accountability

The people those who feel their responsibility, always accept moral responsibilities for their
actions. It is known as accountable. In short, accountable means being culpable and hold
responsible for faults. In general and to be proper, it means the general tendency of being
willing to consider ones actions to moral examinations and be open and respond to the
assessment of others. It comprises a desire to present morally convincing reasons for ones
conduct when called upon in specific circumstances.

The separation of causal influence and moral accountability is more common in all
business and professions and also in engineering. These differences arising from several
features of modern engineering practices are as follows:

1. Large scale engineering projects always involve division of work. For each and every
piece of work, every person contributes a small portion of their work towards the
completion of the project. The final output us transmitted from ones immediate work
place to another causing a decrease in personal accountability.
2. Due to the fragmentation of work, the accountability will spread widely within an
organization. The personal accountability will spread over on the basis of hierarchies of
authority.
 3. There is always a pressure to move on to a different project before finishing the current
one. This always leads to a sense of being accountable only for fulfilling the schedules.
4. There is always a weaker pre-occupation with legalities. In other words this refers to a
way a moral involvement beyond the laid down institutional role. To conclude,
engineers are being always blamed for all the harmful side effects of their projects.
Engineers cannot separate themselves from personal responsibilities for their work.

CODES OF ETHICS
The codes of ethics have to be adopted by engineering societies as well as by engineers.
These codes exhibit the rights, duties, and obligations of the members of a profession. Codes
are the set of laws and standards.
A code of ethics provides a framework for ethical judgment for a professional. A code
cannot be said as totally comprehensive and cover all ethical situations that an engineer has to
face. It serves only as a starting point for ethical decision-making. A code expresses the
circumstances to ethical conduct shared by the members of a profession. It is also to be noted
that ethical codes do not establish the new ethical principles. They repeat only the principles
and standards that are already accepted as responsible engineering practice. A code defines the
roles and responsibilities of professionals.

Roles of codes and its functions

1. Inspiration and Guidance

Codes give a convinced motivation for ethical conduct and provide a helpful guidance for
achieving the obligations of engineers in their work. Codes contribute mostly general guidance
as they have to be brief. Specific directions may also be given to apply the code in morally good
ways. The following engineering societies have published codes of ethics.

AAES - American Association of Engineering Societies

ABET - Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (USA)
NSPE - National Society of Professional Engineer (USA)
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (USA)
AICTE - All India Council for Technical Education (India)
Most of the technological companies have established their own codes such as pentagon (USA),
Microsoft etc. These codes are very much helpful to strengthen the moral issues on the work of
an engineer.

2. Support
 Codes always support an engineer who follows the ethical principles. Codes give engineers a
positive, a possible good support for standing on moral issues. Codes also serve as a legal
support for engineers.

3. Deterrence and Discipline

Codes act as a deterrent because they never encourage to act immorally. They also provide
discipline among the Engineers to act morally on the basis of codes does not overrule the rights
of those being investigated.

4. Education and Mutual Understanding

Codes have to be circulated and approved officially by the professionals, the public and
government organizations which concern with the moral responsibilities of engineers and
organizations.

5. Contributing to the professions Public Image

Codes help to create a good image to the public of an ethically committed profession. It
helps the engineers in an effective manner to serve the public. They also gives self-regulation
for the profession itself.

6. Protecting the Status Quo

Codes determine ethical conventions which help to create an agreed upon minimum level
of ethical conduct. But they can also suppress the disagreement within the profession.

7. Promoting Business Interests

Codes help to improve the business interests. They help to moralize the business dealings to
benefit those within the profession.

Limitations of Codes

1. Codes are restricted to general and vague wordings. Due to this limitation they cannot be
applicable to all situations directly. It is also impossible to analyze fully and predict the full
range of moral problems that arises in a complex profession.
2. Engineering codes often have internal conflicts. So they cant give a solution or method for
resolving the conflict.

3. They cannot be treated as the final moral authority for any professional conduct. Codes
represent a compromise between differing judgments and also developed among heated
committee disagreements.

4. Only a few practicing engineers are the members of Professional Societies and so they cannot
be compelled to abide by their codes.

5. Many engineers who are the members of Professional Societies are not aware of the
existence of the codes of their societies and they never go through it.

6. Codes can be reproduced in a very rapid manner.

7. Codes are said to be coercive i.e., implemented by threat or force.

A BALANCED OUTLOOK ON LAW

A balanced outlook on laws stresses the necessity of laws and regulations and their
limitations in directing engineering practice.
In order to live, work and play together in harmony as a society, there must be a balance
between individual needs and desires against collective needs and desires. Only ethical conduct
can provide such a balance. This ethical conduct can be applied only with the help of laws. Laws
are important as the people are not fully responsible and because of the competitive nature of
the free enterprise system which does not encourage moral initiative.
The model of engineering as social experimentation allows for the importance of clear
laws to be effectively enforced.
Engineers ought to play an effective role in promoting or changing enforceable rules of
engineering as well as in enforcing them. So the codes must be enforced with the help of laws.
The following are the two best examples.

1. Babylons Building Code: (1758 B.C.)

This code was made by Hammurabi, king of Babylon. He formed a code for builders of his
time and all the builders were forced to follow the code by law. He ordered
 If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound, and the house
which he has built was fallen down and so caused the death of the householder, that builder
shall be put to death. If it causes the death of the house holders son, they shall put that
builders son to death. If it causes the death of the house holders slave, he shall give slave to
the householder. If it destroys property he shall replace anything it has destroyed; and because
he has not made the house sound which he has built and it has fallen down, he shall rebuild the
house which has fallen down from his own property. If a builder has built a house for a man and
does not make his work perfect and the wall bulges, that builder shall put that wall in to sound
condition at his own cost.

The above portion of Babylons building code was respected duly. But the aspects find only
little approval today. This code gives a powerful incentive for self regulation.

2. The United States Steamboat Code: [1852 A.D]

Steam engines in the past were very large and heavy. James Watt, Oliver Evans and Richard
Trevethik modified the old steam engines by removing condensers and made them compact.
Beyond careful calculations and guidelines, explosions of boiler happened on steam boats,
because of the high speed of the boats. The safety valves were unable to keep steam pressure
up causing explosion. During that period in 18th century, more than 2500 people were killed
and 2000 people were injured because of the explosion of boilers in steam boats.

Due to this, the ruling congress in USA passed a law which provided for inspection of the
safety aspects of ships and their boilers and engines. But his law turned out to be ineffective
due to the corruptions of the inspectors and also their inadequate training regarding the safety
checking. Then Alfred Guthiro, an engineer of Illinoise had inspected about 200 steam boats on
his own cost and found out the reasons for the boiler explosions and made a report. His
recommendations were published by a Senator Shields of Illinoise and incorporated in senate
documents. With the help of this, another law was passed. Now it is in the hands of the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers who formulated the standards for producing steam
boats.

3. THE CHALLENGER CASE STUDY

The world has known about many numbers of accidents. Among them the explosion of the
space shuttle Challenger is the very familiar one. In those days this case had been reviewed
vigorously by media coverage, government reports and transcripts of hearings. This case deals
with many ethical issues which engineers faced. It poses many questions before us. What is the
exact role of the engineer when safety issues are concern? Who should have the ultimate
authority for decision making to order for a launch? Whether the ordering of a launch be an
engineering or a managerial decision?

Challenger space shuttle was designed to be a reusable one. The shuttle mainly consisted of
an orbiter, two solid propellant boosters and a single liquid-propeller booster. All the boosters
was ignited and the orbiter was lifted out the earth. The solid rocket booster was of reusable
type. The liquid propellant booster was used to finish the lifting of the shuttle in to the orbit.
This was only a part of the shuttle which has been reused.

The accident took place on 28 th January 1986, due to the failure of one of the solid
boosters. In the design of the space shuttle, the main parts which needed careful design of the
fields joints where the individual cylinders were placed together. The assembly mainly consists
of tang and clevis joints which are sealed by two O-rings made up of synthetic rubber only, not
specifically hat resistant. The function of the O-rings are to prevent the combustion gases of the
solid propellant from escaping. The O-rings were eroded by hot gases, but this was not a
serious problem, as the solid rocket boosters were only for reuse initially for the few minutes of
the flight. If the erosion of the O-rings could be in a controlled manner, and they would not
completely burnt through, then the design of the joint would be acceptable, however the
design of the O-rings in this shuttle was not so.

Diagram

In the pre flight experiment in 1985, the Thiokol engineers noticed black soot and grease on
the outside of the boosters due to leak of hot gases blown through the O-rings. This raised a
doubt on the resiliency of the materials used for the O-rings. Thiokol engineers redesigned the
rings with steel billets to withstand the hot gases. But unfortunately this new design was not
ready by that time of flight in 1986.

Before launching, it was necessary to discuss the political environment under which NASA
was operating at that time. Because the budget of NASA has decided by Congress. These factors
played the main cause for unavoidable delay in the decision to be taken for the shuttle
performance, the pressures placed for urgency in launching in 1986 itself, before the launch of
RUSSIAN probe to prove to the congress that the program was on processing. The launching
date had already been postponed for the availability of vice president GEORGE BUSH, the space
NASA supporter. Later further delayed due to a problem in micro switch in the hatch-locking
mechanism. The cold weather problem and long discussions went on among the engineers. The
number of tele-conferences further delayed the previous testing in 1985 itself. The lowest
temperature was 53oF but O-ring temperature during the proposed launch period happened to
be only 29 Fo, which was far below the environment temperature at which NASA had the
previous trail. Somehow, the major factor that made the revised final decision was that
previous trial. Somehow, the major factor that made the revised final decision was that with
the available data at that time there seemed to be no correlation between the temperature
and the degree at which O-rings had eroded by the blow-by gas in the previous launch.
Assuming a safety concern due to cold weather, though the data were not concluded
satisfactorily, a decision was taken not to delay further for so many reasons, and the launch was
finally recommended.

But unexpectedly the overnight temperature at the time of launch was 8Fo colder than ever
experienced. It was estimated that the temperature of the right hand booster would be only at
28 oF. The camera noticed a puff of smoke coming out from the field joints as soon as the
boosters were ignited. But the O-rings were not positioned properly on their seats due to
extreme cold temperature. The putty used as heat resistant material was also too cold that it
failed to protect the O-rings. All these effects made the hot gases to burn past both the Orings,
leading to a blow-by over an arc around the O-rings. Though immediately further sealing was
made by the by-products of combustion in the rocket propulsion, a glassy oxide formed on the
joints. The oxides which were temporarily sealing the field joints at high temperature later were
shattered by the stresses caused by the wind. Again the joints were opened and the hot gases
escaped from the solid boosters. But the boosters were attached to the large liquid fuel
boosters as per the design. This made the flames due to blow-by from the solid fuel boosters
quickly to burn through the external tank. This led to the ignition of the liquid propellant
making the shuttle exploded.

Later the accident was reviewed and investigations were carried out by the number of
committees involved and by various government bodies. President Regan appointed a
commission called Rogers Commission which constituted many distinguished scientists and
engineers. The eminent scientists in the commission after thorough examination and
investigations gave a report on the flexibility of the material and proved that the resiliency of
the material was not sufficient and drastically reduced during the cold launch.

As the result of commission hearings, a lot of controversial arguments went on among the
Thiokol engineers. Thiokol and NASA investigated possible causes of the explosion. Mr.Boisjoly,
the main member in the investigation team, accused Thiokol and NASA of intentionally
downplaying the problems with the O-rings while looking for the other causes of the accidents.
The hot discussions hurt the feelings and status of the headed engineers like Mr.Boisjoly,
Mr.Curtis and Mr.Mellicam. Finally the managements atmosphere also became intolerable.
This event shows the responsibility, functions, morality, duties of the engineers leading to
ethical problems.
 Unit IV Safety, Responsibilities and Rights

SAFETY AND RISK

Risk is a key element in any engineering design.

Concept of Safety

A thing is safe if its risks are judged to be acceptable. Safety are tactily value judgments about
what is acceptable risk to a given person or group.

Types of Risks

Voluntary and Involuntary Risks

Short term and Long Term Consequences

Expected Portability

Reversible Effects

Threshold levels for Risk

Delayed and Immediate Risk

Risk is one of the most elaborate and extensive studies. The site is visited and
exhaustive discussions with site personnel are undertaken. The study usually covers risk
identification, risk analysis, risk assessment, risk rating, suggestions on risk control and risk
mitigation.

Interestingly, risk analysiscan beexpanded to fullfledgerisk managementstudy. The risk

management study also includes residual risk transfer, risk financing etc.

Stepwise, Risk Analysis will include:

Hazards identification
Failure modes and frequencies evaluation from established sources and best practices.
Selection of credible scenarios and risks.
Fault and event trees for various scenarios.
Consequences-effect calculations with work out from models.
Individual and societal risks.
 ISO risk contours superimposed on layouts for various scenarios.
Probability and frequency analysis.
Established risk criteria of countries, bodies, standards.
Comparison of risk against defined risk criteria.
Identification of risk beyond the location boundary, if any.
Risk mitigation measures.

The steps followed are need based andall or some of these may be required from the above
depending upon the nature of site/plant.

Risk Analysis is undertaken after detailed site study and will reflect Chilworth exposure
to various situations. It may also include study on frequency analysis, consequences analysis,
risk acceptability analysis etc., if required. Probability and frequency analysis covers failure
modes and frequencies from established sources and best practices for various scenarios and
probability estimation.

Consequences analysis deals with selection of credible scenarios and consequences

effect calculation including worked out scenarios and using software package.

RISK BENEFIT ANALYSIS AND REDUCING RISK

Risk-benefit analysis is the comparison of the risk of a situation to its related benefits.

For research that involves more than minimal risk of harm to the subjects, the
investigator must assure that the amount of benefit clearly outweighs the amount of risk. Only
if there is favorable risk benefit ratio, a study may be considered ethical.

Risk Benefit Analysis Example

Exposure to personal risk is recognized as a normal aspect of everyday life. We accept a

certain level of risk in our lives as necessary to achieve certain benefits. In most of these risks
we feel as though we have some sort of control over the situation. For example, driving an
automobile is a risk most people take daily. "The controlling factor appears to be their
perception of their individual ability to manage the risk-creating situation." Analyzing the risk of
a situation is, however, very dependent on the individual doing the analysis. When individuals
are exposed to involuntary risk, risk which they have no control, they make risk aversion their
primary goal. Under these circumstances individuals require the probability of risk to be as
much as one thousand times smaller than for the same situation under their perceived control.
Evaluations of future risk:
Real future risk as disclosed by the fully matured future circumstances when they
develop.
Statistical risk, as determined by currently available data, as measured actuarially for
insurance premiums.
Projected risk, as analytically based on system models structured from historical
studies.
Perceived risk, as intuitively seen by individuals.

Air transportation as an example:

Flight insurance company -statistical risk.

Passenger -perceived risk.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) -projected risks.

How to Reduce Risk?

1. Define the Problem

2. Generate Several Solutions
3. Analyze each solution to determine the pros and cons of each
4. Test the solutions
5. Select the best solution
6. Implement the chosen solution
7. Analyze the risk in the chosen solution
8. Try to solve it. Or move to next solution
.

Risk-Benefit Analysis and Risk Management

Informative risk-benefit analysis and effective risk management are essential to the
ultimate commercial success of your product. We are a leader in developing statistically
rigorous, scientifically valid risk-benefit assessment studies that can be used to demonstrate
the level of risk patients and other decision makers are willing to accept to achieve the benefits
provided by your product.

Risk-Benefit Modeling
Systematically quantify the relative importance of risks and benefits to demonstrate the
net benefits of treatment
Risk-Benefit Tradeoffs
Quantify patients maximum acceptable risk for specific therapeutic benefits

CHERNOBYL CASE STUDIES

What Happened?

At 1:24 AM on April 26, 1986, there was an explosion at the Soviet nuclear power plant
at Chernobyl. One of the reactors overheated, igniting a pocket of hydrogen gas. The explosion
blew the top off the containment building, and exposed the molten reactor to the air. Thirty
one power plant workers were killed in the initial explosion, and radioactive dust and debris
spewed into the air.

It took several days to put out the fire. Helicopters dropped sand and chemicals on the
reactor rubble, finally extinguishing the blaze. Then the Soviets hastily buried the reactor in a
sarcophagus of concrete. Estimates of deaths among the clean-up workers vary widely. Four
thousand clean-up workers may have died in the following weeks from the radiation. The
countries now known as Belarus and Ukraine were hit the hardest by the radioactive fallout.
Winds quickly blew the toxic cloud from Eastern Europe into Sweden and Norway. Within a
week, radioactive levels had jumped over all of Europe, Asia, and Canada. It is estimated that
seventy-thousand Ukrainians have been disabled, and five million people were exposed to
radiation. Estimates of total deaths due to radioactive contamination range from 15,000 to
45,000 or more. To give you an idea of the amount of radioactive material that escaped, the
atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima had a radioactive mass of four and a half tons. The
exposed radioactive mass at Chernobyl was fifty tons. In the months and years following, birth
defects were common for animals and humans. Even the leaves on the trees became deformed.
Today, in Belarusand Ukraine, thyroid cancer and leukemia are still higher than normal. The
towns of Pripyat and Chernobyl in the Ukraine are ghost towns. They will be uninhabitable due
to radioactive contamination for several hundred years. The worst of the contaminated area is
called The Zone, and it is fenced off. Plants, meat, milk, and water in the area are still unsafe.
Despite the contamination, millions of people live in and near The Zone, too poor to move to
safer surroundings. Further, human genetic mutations created by the radiation exposure have
been found in children who have only recently been born. This suggests that there may be
another whole generation of Chernobyl victims. Recent reports say that there are some
indications that the concrete sarcophagus at Chernobyl is breaking down.

How a Nuclear Power Plant Works

 The reactor at Chernobyl was composed of almost 200 tons of uranium. This giant block
of uranium generated heat and radiation. Water ran through the hot reactor, turning to steam.
The steam ran the turbines, thereby generating electricity. The hotter the reactor, the more
electricity would be generated. Left to itself, the reactor would become too reactiveit would
become hotter and hotter and more and more radioactive. If the reactor had nothing to cool it
down, it would quickly meltdown a process where the reactor gets so hot that it melts
melting through the floor. So, engineers needed a way to control the temperature of the
reactor, to keep it from the catastrophic meltdown. Further, the engineers needed to be able to
regulate the temperature of the reactorso that it ran hotter when more electricity was
needed, and could run colder when less electricity was desired.

The method they used to regulate the temperature of the reactor was to insert heat-
absorbing rods, called control rods. These control rods absorb heat and radiation. The rods hang
above the reactor, and can be lowered into the reactor, which will cool the reactor. When more
Electricity is needed; the rods can be removed from the reactor, which will allow the reactor to
heat up. The reactor has hollow tubes, and the control rods are lowered into these reactor
tubes, or raised up out of the reactor tubes. At the Chernobyl-type reactors, there are 211
control rods. The more control rods that are inserted, the colder the reactor runs. The more
control rods that are removed, the hotter the reactor becomes.

Soviet safety procedures demanded that at least 28 rods were inserted into the
Chernobyl reactor at all times. This was a way to make sure that the reactor wouldnt overheat.
 Water was another method to moderate the temperature of the reactor. When more
water ran through the reactor, the reactor cooled faster. When less water ran through the
reactor, the reactor stayed hot.

Chernobyl Background

The list of senior engineers at Chernobyl was as follows: Viktor Bryukhanov, the plant
director, was a pure physicist, with no nuclear experience.

Anatoly Dyatlov, the deputy chief engineer, served as the day-to-day supervisor. He had
worked with reactor cores but had never before worked in a nuclear power plant. When he
accepted the job as deputy chief engineer, he exclaimed, you dont have to be a genius to
figure out a nuclear reactor.

The engineers were Aleksandr Akimov, serving his first position in this role; Nikolai
Fomin, an electrical engineer with little nuclear experience; Gennady Metlenko, an electrical
engineer; and Leonid Toptunov, a 26 year-old reactor control engineer. The engineers were
heavy in their experience of electric technology, but had less experience with the uniqueness of
neutron physics.

The confidence of these engineers was exaggerated. They believed they had decades of
problem-free nuclear work, so they believed that nuclear power was very safe. The engineers
believed that they could figure out any problem. In reality, there had been many problems in
the Soviet nuclear power industry. The Soviet state tried to keep problems a secret because
problems are bad PR.

The Soviets had number of nuclear accidents (this is a partial list of Soviet accidents
before Chernobyl). In 1957 in Chelyabinsk, there was a substantial release of radio activity
caused by a spontaneous reaction in spent fuel; in 1966 in Melekess the nuclear power plant
experienced a spontaneous surge in power, releasing radiation; In 1974, there was an explosion
at the nuclear power plant in Leningrad; Later in 1974, at the same nuclear power plant, three
people were killed and radiation was released into the environment; in 1977, there was a
partial meltdown of nuclear fuel at Byeloyarsk; in 1978 at Byeloyarsk, the reactor went out of
control after a roof panel fell onto it; In 1982 at Chernobyl, radioactivity was released into the
environment; In 1982, there was there was a fire at Armyanskaya; In 1985, fourteen people
were killed when a relief valve burst in Balakovo.
 Had the engineers at Chernobyl had the information of the previous nuclear accidents,
perhaps they would have known to be more careful. It is often from mistakes that we learn, and
the engineers at Chernobyl had no opportunity to learn.

As a footnote, dont think that the problems were just those mistake-laden Soviets.
Here is a partial list of American accidents before Chernobyl: In 1951, the Detroit reactor
overheated, and air was contaminated with radioactive gasses; In 1959, there was a partial
meltdown in Santa Susanna, California; In 1961, three people were killed in an explosion at the
nuclear power plant at Idaho Falls, Idaho; In 1966, there was a partial meltdown at a reactor
near Detroit; In 1971, 53,000 gallons of radioactive water were released into the Mississippi
River from the Monticello plant in Minnesota; In 1979, there was population evacuation and a
discharge of radioactive gas and water in a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island; in 1979 there
was a discharge of radiation in Irving Tennessee; In 1982, there was a release of radioactive gas
into the environment in Rochester, New York; In 1982, there was a leak of radioactive gasses
into the atmosphere at Ontario, New York; In 1985, there was a leak of radioactive water near
New York City; In 1986, one person was killed in an explosion of a tank of radioactive gas in
Webbers Falls, Oklahoma.

April 25th, 1:00 PM

The engineers at Chernobyl had volunteered to do a safety test proposed by the Soviet
government. In the event of a reactor shutdown, aback-up system of diesel generators would
crank up, taking over the electricity generation. However, the diesel engines took a few minutes
to start producing electricity. The reactor had a turbine that was meant to generate electricity
for a minute or two until the diesel generators would start operating. The experiment at
Chernobyl was meant to see exactly how long that turbine would generate the electricity.

The experiment required that the reactor must be operating at 50% of capacity. On April
th
25 1986, at 1:00 PM, the engineers began to reduce the operating power of the reactor, by
inserting the control rods into the reactor. This had the effect, you may recall, of cooling off the
reactormaking it less reactive.

They emergency cooling system was shutdown. They were afraid that the cooling
system might kick in during the test, thereby interfering with the experiment. They had no
authorization to deactivate the cooling system, but they went ahead and deactivated it.

The experiment called for running the reactor at 50% capacity, thereby generating only
half the electricity. At 2:00 PM, a dispatcher at Kiev called and asked them to delay the test
because of the higher-than-expected energy usage. They delayed the test, but did not
reactivate the emergency cooling system.

April 25th, 11:00 PM

At 11:00 PM, they began the test again. Toptunov, the senior reactor control engineer,
began to manually lower the reactor to 50% of its capacity so that they could begin the turbine
safety experiment.

Lowering the power generation of a nuclear reactor is a tricky thing. It is not like
lowering the thermostat in a house. When you lower thethermostatinthehousefrom72 to 68
degrees, the temperature in the house will drop to 68 degrees and stay there. But in a nuclear
reactor, the dropping of the temperature is not only the result of lowering their activity, but it is
also a cause of lowering the reactivity. In other words, the coldness of the reactor will make the
reactor colder. This is called the self-damping effect. Conversely, when the reactor heats up, the
heat of the reactor will make itself hotter (the self-amplifying effect).

So, when the control rods are dropped into the reactor, the reactivity goes down. And
the water running through the reactor also lessens reactivity. But the lower reactivity also
makes the reactor itself less reactive. So, the Chernobyl reactor damped itself, even as the
water and the control rods damped its reactivity.

It is typically hard for people to think in terms of exponential reduction or exponential

increase. We naturally think of a linear (straight-line) reduction or a linear increase. We have
trouble with self-damping and self-amplifying effects, because they are nonlinear by definition.

So, the engineers over steered the process, and hit the 50% mark, but they were unable
to keep it there. By 12:30 AM, the power generation had dropped to 1% of capacity. Chernobyl-
type reactors are not meant to drop that low in their capacity. There are two problems with the
nuclear reactor running at1% of capacity. When reactivity drops that low, the reactor runs
unevenly and unstably, like a bad diesel engine. Small pockets of reactivity can begin that can
spread hot reactivity through the reactor. Secondly, the low running of the reactor creates
unwanted gasses and byproducts (xenon and iodine) that poison the reactor. Because of this,
they were strictly forbidden to run the reactor below 20% of capacity.

In the Chernobyl control room, Dyatlov (the chief engineer in charge of the experiment),
upon hearing the reactor was at 1%, flew into a rage. With the reactor capacity was so low; he
would not be able to conduct his safety experiment. With the reactor at1% capacity, Dyatlov
had two options:

1. One option was to let the reactor go cold, which would have ended the experiment, and
then they would have to wait for two days for the poisonous byproducts to dissipate
before starting the reactor again. With this option, Dyatlov would no doubt have been
reprimanded, and possibly lost his job.
2. The other option was to immediately increase the power. Safety rules prohibited
increasing the power if the reactor had fallen from 80% capacity. In this case, the power
had fallen from 50% capacityso they were not technically governed by the safety
protocols.

Dyatlov ordered the engineers to raise power.

Today, we know the horrible outcome of this Chernobyl chronology. It is easy for us to
sit back in our armchairs, with the added benefit of hindsight, and say Dyatlov made the wrong
choice. Of course, he could have followed the spirit of the protocols and shut the reactor down.
However, Dyatlov did not have the benefit of hindsight. He was faced with the choice of the
surety of reprimand and the harming of his career vs. the possibility of safety problems. And,
we know from engineers and technical operators everywhere, safety protocols are routinely
breached when faced with this kind of choice. Experts tend to believe that they are experts, and
that the safety rules are for amateurs.

Further, safety rules are not designed so that people are killed instantly when the safety
standard is broken. On a 55-mile per hour limit on a highway, cars do not suddenly burst into
flames at 56 miles per hour. In fact, there is an advantage to going 56 miles an hour as opposed
to 55 (you get to your destination faster). In the same way, engineers frequently view safety
rules as troublesome, and there is an advantage to have the freedom to disregard them.

In fact, we experience this psychology every day, usually without thinking about it.
When you come toward an intersection, and the light turns yellow, you reach a point where
you either have to go through on a yellow light, or come to a stop. Many people go through on
the yellow, even though there is a greater risk. So, in a split second, we decide between the
surety of sitting at a red light or the possibility, albeit slight, of a safety problem to go through
the yellow light. There is a clear advantage to take the risk (as long as you aren't in an accident).
While the stakes were higher at Chernobyl, the same psychology applies.
 At this point in the Chernobyl process, there were 28 control rods in the reactorthe
minimum required. Increasing power would mean that even more control rods would have to
be removed from the reactor. This would be a breach of protocol--the minimum number of
rods was 28. Dyatlov gave the order to remove more control rods.
Toptunov, the reactor control engineer, refused to remove any more rods. He believed
it would be unsafe to increase the power. With the reactor operating at 1%, and the minimum
number of control rods in the reactor, he believed it would be unsafe to remove more rods. He
was abiding by a strict interpretation of the safety protocols of 28 rods.

But Dyatlov continued to rage, swearing at the engineers and demanding they increase
power. Dyatlov threatened to fire Toptunov immediately if he didnt increase the power.

The 26-year-old Toptunov was faced with a choice. He believed he had two options:

1. He could refuse to increase powerbut then Dyatlov would fire him immediately, and
his career would be over.
2. His other choice was to increase power, recognizing that something bad might happen.

Toptunov looked around. All the other engineersincluding his supervisorswere

willing to increase power. Toptunov knew he was young and didn't have much experience with
reactors. Perhaps this kind of protocol breach was normal. Toptunov was faced with that choice
of the surety of his career ending, vs the possibility of safety problems. Toptunov decided to
agree and increase the power.

Tragically, it would be the last decision Toptunov would ever make.

April 26th, 1:00 AM

By 1:00 AM, the power of the reactor was stable at 7% of capacity. Only 18 control rods
were in the reactor (safety protocols demanded that no less than 28 control rods should always
be in the reactor).

At 1:07 AM, the engineers wanted to make sure the reactor wouldn't overheat, so they
turned on more water to ensure proper cooling (they were now pumping five times the normal
rate of water through the reactor). The extra water cooled the reactor, and the power dropped
again. The engineers responded by withdrawing even more control rods. Now, only 3 control
rods were inserted in the reactor.
 The reactor stabilized again. The engineers, satisfied with the amount of steam they
were getting (they needed steam for their experiment) shut off the pumps for the extra water.
They shut off the water, apparently only considering the effect that the water would have on
the experimentand did not consider the effect that the water was having on the reactor. At
this point, with only 3 control rods in the reactor, the water was only thing keeping the reactor
cool. Without the extra cool water, the reactor began to get hot. Power increased slowly at
first. As the reactor got hotter, the reactor itself made the reactor hotterthe self-amplifying
effect. The heat and reactivity of the reactor increased exponentially.

The engineers were trying to watch multiple variables simultaneously. The water, the
steam, the control rods, and the current temperature of the reactor all were intertwined to
affect the reactivity of the reactor. People can easily think in cause and effect terms. Had their
only been one variable that controlled the reactivity, the results would probably have been
different. However, people have difficulty thinking through the process when there are a
multitude of variables, all interacting in different ways.

People are not processors of unlimited information. There is a limited amount of

information with which a person can work. With the safety of hindsight, we can sit back and
make a judgment saying, "they didn't think through all their information." However, this kind of
linear judgment does not tell us why they didn't see what is obvious to our hindsight.

At1:22 AM (90 seconds before the explosion), the engineers were still relaxed and
confident. Dyatlov, in fact, was seeing his turbine safety experiment coming to a successful
conclusion. In what turned out to be a tragic irony, he encouraged his engineers by suggesting,
In two or three minutes it will all be over.

Thirty seconds before the explosion, the engineers realized the reactor was heating up
too fast. With only 3 control rods in the reactor, and then shutting off the water, the reactor
was superheating. In a panic, they desperately tried to drop control rods into the reactor, but
the heat of the reactor had already melted the tubes into which the control rods slid.

The floor of the building began to shake, and loud banging started to echo through the
control room. The coolant water began to boil violently, causing the pipes to burst. The super-
heating reactor was creating hydrogen and oxygen gasses. This explosive mixture of gasses
accumulated above the reactor. The heat of the reactor was building fast, and the temperature
of the flammable gasses was rising.
 April26th, 1:24 AM

Finally, the gasses detonated, destroying the reactor and the protective containment
building. The control room was far enough away from the containment building to escape
destruction, but the explosion shook the entire plant. Debris caved in around the control room
members, and Dyatlov, Akimov, Toptunov, and the others were knocked to the floor. Dust and
chalk filled the air. While they knew there had been an explosion, they hoped and prayed the
explosion had not come from the reactor. Toptunov and Akimov ran over the broken glass and
ceiling debris to the open door, and ran across the compound toward the containment building.
There, they saw the horrifying, unspeakable sight. There was rubble where the reactor had
been. They saw flames shooting up 40 feet high, burning oil squirting from pipes onto the
ground, black ash falling to the ground, and a bright purple light emanating from the rubble.
Within a few minutes, fire fighters had arrived. The fire fighters, most with no protective
equipment, heroically worked to extinguish the fire, hoping to prevent further damage to the
three other reactors at the plant. Most of the fire fighters died from the radiation exposure.
The plant director Bryukhanov, was not at the plant during the time of explosion had been
contacted and informed about the explosion. In the chaos, those informing Bryukhanov of the
explosion still did not know the total amount of devastation. Bryukhavov, still desperately
hoping that the reactor was intact, called Moscow to inform them that while there had been an
explosion, the reactor had not sustained any damage. Again, with the benefit of hindsight, we
can say that Bryukhanov should have acted quicker. It's true that many lives could have been
saved if he had acted differently. However, his actions are not uncommon in these kinds of
situations. A common reaction is called "horizontal flight, "where people retreat from the
worst-case scenario, convincing themselves to believe the best-case scenario. Bryukhanov had
convinced himself that the reactor was not in danger. And after all, someone from the plant
had called and given an ambiguous message. Surely they would have known if the reactor had
been destroyed.

April 26th, 4:00 AM

At 4:00 AM, the command from Moscow came back: Keep the reactor cool. The
authorities in Moscow had no idea that the damage was so catastrophic. Akimov, Dyatlov, and
Toptunov, their skin brown from the radiation, and their bodies wrenched from internal
damage, had already been taken away to the medical center. At 10:00 AM, Bryukhanov, the
plant director, was informed that the reactor had been destroyed. Bryukhanov rejected the
information, preferring to believe that the reactor was still intact. He informed Moscow that
the reactor was intact and radiation was within normal limits.
 Later that day, experts from around the Soviet Union came to Chernobyl, and found the
horrifying truth. The reactor had indeed been destroyed, and fifty tons of radioactive fuel had
instantly evaporated. The wind blew the radioactive plume in a northwesterly direction. Belarus
and Finland were going to be in the path of the radioactive cloud.

The Days Afterward

The secretive Soviet state was slow to act. Soviet bureaucracy debated whether to
evacuate nearby cities, and how much land should be evacuated. They were slow in their
response, slow to evacuate, and slow to inform the world of the disaster. It took over 36 hours
before authorities began to evacuate nearby residents. Two days later, the nightly news (the
fourth story) reported that one of the reactors was damaged. Within a few days, radiation
detectors were going off all over the world. The Soviets continued to try to hide the issue from
the world and their own residents. Several months later, Bryukhanov was arrested, still
believing that he did everything right. Dyatlov survived the radiation sickness, and was arrested
in December of that year. He believed he was a scapegoat for the accident. Akimov died a few
weeks after the disaster, but till the very end continued to say, I did everything right. I dont
know how it happened.

The radiation cloud on April 27th, 1986

THREE MILE ISLAND ACCIDENT
(March 2001, minorupdateJan 2010)

In 1979 at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in USA a cooling malfunction caused
part of the core to melt in the # 2 reactor. The TMI-2 reactor was destroyed.
Some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident, but not enough
to cause any dose above background levels to local residents.
There were no injuries or adverse health effects from the Three Mile Island accident.

The Three Mile Island power station is near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in USA. It had two
pressurized water reactors. One PWR was of 800 MWe (775 MWenet) and entered service in
1974. It remains one of the best-performing units in USA. Unit 2 was of 906 MWe (880 MWe
net) and almost brand new.

The accident to unit2 happened at 4 am on 28 March 1979 when the reactor was operating at
97% power. It involved a relatively minor malfunction in the secondary cooling circuit which
caused the temperature in the primary coolant to rise. This in turn caused the reactor to shut
down automatically. Shut down took about one second. At this point a relief valve failed to
lose, but instrumentation did not reveal the fact, and so much of the primary coolant drained
away that the residual decay heat in the reactor core was not removed. The core suffered
severe damage as a result. The operators were unable to diagnose or respond properly to the
unplanned automatic shutdown of the reactor. Deficient control room instrumentation and
inadequate emergency response training proved to be root causes of the accident
The chain of events during the Three Mile Island Accident

Within seconds of the shutdown, the pilot-operated relief valve (PORV) on the reactor
cooling system opened, as it was supposed to. About 10 seconds later it should have closed. But
it remained open, leaking vital reactor coolant water to the reactor coolant drain tank. The
operators believed the relief valve had shut because instruments showed them that a "close"
signal was sent to the valve. However, they did not have an instrument indicating the valve's
actual position.

Responding to the loss of cooling water, high-pressure injection pumps automatically

pushed replacement water into the reactor system. As water and steam escaped through the
relief valve, cooling water surged into the pressuriser, raising the water level in it. (The
pressuriser is a tank which is part of the primary reactor cooling system, maintaining proper
pressure in the system. The relief valve is located on the pressuriser. In a PWR like TMI-2, water
in the primary cooling system around the core is kept under very high pressure to keep it from
boiling.)

Operators responded by reducing the flow of replacement water. Their training told
them that the pressuriser water level was the only dependable indication of the amount of
cooling water in the system. Because the pressuriser level was increasing, they thought the
reactor system was too full of water. Their training told them to do all they could to keep the
pressuriser from filling with water. If it filled, they could not control pressure in the cooling
system and it might rupture.

Steam then formed in the reactor primary cooling system. Pumping a mixture of steam
and water caused the reactor cooling pumps to vibrate. Because the severe vibrations could
have damaged the pumps and made them unusable, operators shut down the pumps. This
ended forced cooling of the reactor core. (The operators still believed the system was nearly
full of water because the pressuriser level remained high.) However, as reactor coolant water
boiled away, the reactors fuel core was uncovered and became even hotter. The fuel rods were
damaged and released radioactive material into the cooling water.

At 6:22 am operators closed a block valve between the relief valve and the pressuriser.
This action stopped the loss of coolant water through the relief valve. However, superheated
steam and gases blocked the flow of water through the core cooling system.

Throughout the morning, operators attempted to force more water into the reactor
system to condense steam bubbles that they believed were blocking the flow of cooling water.
During the afternoon, operators attempted to decrease the pressure in the reactor system to
allow a low pressure cooling system to be used and emergency water supplies to be put into
the system.
Cooling Restored

By late afternoon, operators began high-pressure injection of water into the reactor cooling
system to increase pressure and to collapse steam bubbles. By 7:50 pm on 28 March, they
restored forced cooling of the reactor core when they were able to restart one reactor coolant
pump. They had condensed steam so that the pump could run without severe vibrations.

Radioactive gases from the reactor cooling system built up in the makeup tank in the auxiliary
building. During March 29 and 30, operators used a system of pipes and compressors to move
the gas to waste gas decay tanks. The compressors leaked, and some radioactive gas was
released to the environment.

The Hydrogen Bubble

When the reactor's core was uncovered, on the morning of 28 March, a high-temperature
chemical reaction between water and the zircaloy metal tubes holding the nuclear fuel pellets
had created hydrogen gas. In the afternoon of 28 March, a sudden rise in reactor building
pressure shown by the control room instruments indicated a hydrogen burn had occurred.
Hydrogen gas also gathered at the top of the reactor vessel.

From 30 March through 1 April operators removed this hydrogen gas "bubble" by periodically
opening the vent valve on the reactor cooling system pressuriser. For a time, regulatory (NRC)
officials believed the hydrogen bubble could explode, though such an explosion was never
possible since there was not enough oxygen in the system.

Cold Shutdown

After an anxious month, on 27th April, operators established natural convection circulation of
coolant. The reactor core was being cooled by the natural movement of water rather than by
mechanical pumping. The plant was in "cold shutdown".

Public concern and confusion

When the TMI-2 accident is recalled, it is often in the context of what happened on Friday and
Saturday, March 30-31. The drama of the TMI-2 accident-induced fear, stress and confusion on
those two days. The atmosphere then, and the reasons for it, are described well in the book
Crisis Contained, The Department of Energy at Three MileIsland," by Philip L Cantelon and
Robert C. Williams, 1982. This is an official history of the Department of Energy's role during the
accident.

"Friday appears to have become a turning point in the history of the accident because of two
events: the sudden rise in reactor pressure shown by control room instruments on Wednesday
afternoon (the "hydrogen burn") which suggested a hydrogen explosion? became known to the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission [that day]; and the deliberate venting of radioactive gases from
the plant Friday morning which produced a reading of 1,200 millirems (12 mSv) directly above
the stack of the auxiliary building.

"What made these significant was a series of misunderstandings caused, in part, by problems of
communication within various state and federal agencies? Because of confused telephone
conversations between people uninformed about the plant's status, officials concluded that the
1,200 millirems (12 mSv) reading was an off-site reading. They also believed that another
hydrogen explosion was possible, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had ordered
evacuation and that a meltdown was conceivable.

"Garbled communications reported by the media generated a debate over evacuation.

Whether or not there was evacuation plans soon became academic. What happened on Friday
was not a planned evacuation but a weekend exodus based not on what was actually
happening at Three Mile Island but on what government officials and the media imagined might
happen. On Friday confused communications created the politics of fear." (Page 50)
Throughout the book, Cantelon and Williams note that hundreds of environmental samples
were taken around TMI during the accident period by the Department of Energy (which had the
lead sampling role) or the then-Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources. But
there were no unusually high readings, except for noble gases, and virtually no iodine. Readings
were far below health limits. Yet a political storm was raging based on confusion and
misinformation.

No Radiological Health Effects

TheThree Mile Islandaccident caused concerns about the possibility of radiation-induced health
effects, principally cancer, in the area surrounding the plant. Because of those concerns, the
Pennsylvania Department of Health for 18 years maintained a registry of more than 30,000
people who lived within five miles of Three Mile Island at the time of the accident. Thestate's
registry was discontinued in mid 1997, withoutany evidenceof unusual health trends in the
area.
Indeed, more than a dozen major, independent health studies of the accident showed no
evidence of any abnormal number of cancers around TMI years after the accident. The only
detectable effect was psychological stress during and shortly after the accident.

The studies found that the radiation releases during the accident were minimal, well below any
levelsthathavebeen associated with health effectsfromradiation exposure. Theaverage
radiation dose to people living within 10 miles of the plant was 0.08 millisieverts, with no more
than 1 millisievert to any single individual. The level of 0.08 mSv is about equal to a chestX-ray,
and 1 mSv isaboutathird oftheaveragebackground levelofradiation received by U.S. residents in
a year.
In June1996, 17 yearsafter theTMI-2 accident, Harrisburg U.S. DistrictCourtJudgeSylvia Rambo
dismissed a class action lawsuit alleging that the accident caused health effects. The plaintiffs
have appealed Judge Rambo's ruling. The appeal is before the U.S. Third Circuit Court of
Appeals. However, in making her decision, Judge Rambo cited:
 Findings that exposure patterns projected by computer models of the releases compared so
well with data from the TMI dosimeters (TLDs) available during the accident that the
dosimeters probably were adequate to measure the releases. Thatthemaximumoffsitedosewas,
possibly, 100 millirem(1 mSv), and thatprojected fatal cancers were less thanone.

The plaintiffs' failure to prove their assertion that one or more unreported hydrogen
"blowouts"in thereactor systemcaused oneor moreunreported radiation "spikes", producing
a narrow yet highly concentrated plume of radioactive gases.
Judge Rambo concluded: "The parties to the instant action have had nearly two decades to
muster evidencein supportoftheir respectivecases.... Thepaucity ofproofalleged in support
of Plaintiffs' case is manifest. The court has searched the record for any and all evidence
which construed in a light most favourable to Plaintiffs creates a genuine issue of material
fact warranting submission of their claims to a jury. This effort has been in vain."
More than a dozen major, independent studies have assessed the radiation releases and
possible effects on the people and the environment around TMI since the 1979 accident at
TMI-2. The most recent was a 13-year study on 32,000 people. None has found any adverse
health effects such as cancers which might be linked to the accident.
The TMI-2 Cleanup
The cleanup of the damaged nuclear reactor system at TMI-2 took nearly 12 years and cost
approximately US$973 million. The cleanup was uniquely challenging technically and
radiologically. Plant surfaces had to be decontaminated. Water used and stored during the
cleanup had to be processed. And about 100 tonnes of damaged uranium fuel had to be
removed from the reactor vessel--all without hazard to cleanup workers or the public.
Acleanup plan wasdeveloped and carried outsafely and successfully by ateamofmorethan
1000 skilled workers. Itbegan in August1979, with thefirstshipmentsofaccident-generated
low-level radiological waste to Richland, Washington. In the cleanup's closing phases, in
1991, finalmeasurementsweretaken ofthefuelremaining in inaccessiblepartsofthereactor
vessel. Approximately onepercentofthefueland debrisremainsin thevessel. Also in 1991,
the last remaining water was pumped from the TMI-2 reactor. The cleanup ended in
December 1993, when Unit 2 received a license from the NRC to enter Post Defueling
Monitored Storage (PDMS).
Early in the cleanup, Unit 2 was completely severed from any connection to TMI Unit 1.
TMI-2 today isin long-termmonitored storage. No further useofthenuclear partoftheplant
isanticipated. Ventilation and rainwater systemsaremonitored. Equipmentnecessary to keep
the plant in safe long-term storage is maintained.
Defueling theTMI-2 reactor vesselwastheheartofthecleanup. Thedamaged fuelremained
underwater throughout the defueling. In October 1985, after nearly six years of preparations,
workers standing on a platform atop the reactor and manipulating long-handled tools began
lifting the fuel into canisters that hung beneath the platform. In all, 342 fuel canisters were
shipped safely for long-term storage at the Idaho National Laboratory, a program that was
completed in April 1990.
TMI-2 cleanup operations produced over 10.6 megalitres of accident-generated water that
was processed, stored and ultimately evaporated safely.
In February 1991, the TMI-2 Cleanup Program was named by the National Society of
Professional Engineers as one of the top engineering achievements in the U.S. completed
during 1990.
In 2010 the generator was sold by FirstEnergy to Progress Energy to upgrade its Harris
nuclear power plant in North Carolina. It is being shipped in two parts, the rotor, which
weighs 170 tonnes, and the stator, which weighs about 500 tonnes.
The NRC website has afactsheet on Three Mile Island.
TMI-1: Safe and World-Class
From its restart in 1985, Three Mile Island Unit 1 has operated at very high levels of safety
and reliability. Application of the lessons of the TMI-2 accident has been a key factor in the
plant's outstanding performance.
In 1997, TMI-1 completed the longest operating run of any light water reactor in the history
of nuclear power worldwide - 616 days and 23 hours of uninterrupted operation. (That run
wasalso thelongestatany steam-driven plantin theU.S., including plantspowered by fossil
fuels.) And in October 1998, TMI employees completed threemillion hours of work without
a lost-work day accident.
AtthetimeoftheTMI-2 accident, TMI-1 wasshutdown for refueling. Itwaskeptshutdown
during lengthy proceedings by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. During the shutdown,
the plant was modified and training and operating procedures were revamped in light of the
lessons of TMI-2.
When TMI-1 restarted in October 1985, GeneralPublicUtilitiespledged thattheplantwould
be operated safely and efficiently and would become a leader in the nuclear power industry.
Those pledges have been kept.
The plant's capability factor for 1987, including almost three months of a five-month
refueling and maintenanceoutage, was74.1 percent, compared to an industry average
of 62 percent. (Capability factor refers to the amount of electricity generated
compared to the plant'smaximum capacity.)
In 1988 a 1.3% (11 MWe) uprate was licensed.
For 1989, TMI-1's capability factor was 100.03 percent and the best of 357 nuclear
power plants worldwide, according to NucleonicsWeek.
In 1990-91, TMI-1 operated 479 consecutive days, the longest operating run at that
point in the history of US commercial nuclear power. It was named by the NRC as
one of the four safest plants in the country during this period.
By the end of 1994, TMI-1 was one of the first two plants in the history of US
commercial nuclear power to achieve a three-year average capability factor of over
90% (TMI-1 had 94.3%).
In October 1998, TMI workers completed two full years without a lost workday
injury.
Since its restart, TMI-1 has earned consistently high ratings in the NRC's program,
Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP).
In 2009, the TMI-1 operating licence was renewed, extending it life by 20 years to
2034.
Immediately following this, both steam generators were replaced as TMI's "largest
capital project to date"
In 1999, TMI-1 waspurchased by AmerGen, anewjointventurebetween British Energy and
PECO Energy. In 2003 the BE share was sold so that the plant became wholly-owned by
Exelon, PECO's successor. It is now listed as producing 786 MWe net. Training improvements
Training reforms are among the most significant outcomes of the TMI-2 accident. Training
became centred on protecting a plant's cooling capacity, whatever the triggering problem
mightbe. AtTMI-2, theoperatorsturned to abook ofproceduresto pick thosethatseemed to
fittheevent. Nowoperatorsaretaken through asetof"yes-no"questionsto ensure, first, that
thereactor'sfuelcoreremainscovered. Thenthey determinethespecificmalfunction. Thisis
known as a "symptom-based" approach for responding to plant events. Underlying it is a
style of training that gives operators a foundation for understanding both theoretical and
practical aspects of plant operations.
The TMI-2 accident also led to the establishment of the Atlanta-based Institute of Nuclear
Power Operations (INPO) and its National Academy for Nuclear Training. These two
industry organisationshavebeen effectivein promoting excellencein theoperation ofnuclear
plants and accrediting their training programs.
INPO was formed in 1979. The National Academy for Nuclear Training was established
under INPO's auspices in 1985. TMI's operator training program has passed three INPO
accreditation reviews since then.
Training hasgonewellbeyond button-pushing. Communicationsand teamwork, emphasizing
effective interaction among crew members, are now part of TMI's training curriculum.
Close to half of the operators' training is in a full-scale electronic simulator of the TMI
controlroom. The$18 million simulator permits operatorsto learn and betested on allkinds
of accident scenarios.
Increased safety & reliability
Disciplinesin training, operationsand eventreporting thatgrewfromthelessonsoftheTMI-
2 accident have made the nuclear power industry demonstrably safer and more reliable.
Those trends have been both promoted and tracked by the Institute for Nuclear Power
Operations(INPO). To remain in good standing, anuclear plantmustmeetthehigh standards
set by INPO as well as the strict regulation of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
A key indicator is the graph of significant plant events, based on data compiled by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The number of significant events decreased from 2.38 per
reactor unit in 1985 to 0.10 at the end of 1997.
On the reliability front, the median capability factor for nuclear plants - the percentage of
maximum energy that a plant is capable of generating - increased from 62.7 percent in 1980
to almost 90 percent in 2000. (The goal for the year 2000 was 87 percent.)
Other indicators for US plants tracked by INPO and its world counterpart, the World
Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) are the unplanned capability loss factor,
unplanned automatic scrams, safety system performance, thermal performance, fuel
reliability, chemistry performance, collective radiation exposure, volume of solid radioactive
waste and industrial safety accident rate. All are reduced, that is, improved substantially,
from 1980.

COLLEGIALITY AND LOYALTY

Colleagues are those explicitly united in a common purpose and respecting each other's
abilities
to work toward that purpose. A colleague is an associate in a profession or in a civil or
ecclesiastical office.
Thus, the word collegiality and loyality can connote respect for another's commitment to the
common purpose and ability to work toward it.
Case Study:
The unique structural characteristic of a collegial body such as the Supreme Court
is the equality of formal authority of the members. Tension exists between the individual
responsibility to formviews in each caseand thenecessity for cooperation to producecollective
decisions in the Court's collegial structure. Cooperation and the appearance of unity serve to
increase power and respect for a collegial institution. Chief Justice John Marshall arranged
accommodations in one boardinghouse to foster fellowship and developed the single opinion of
theCourtto createasymbolofjudicialsolidarity (seeSeriatimOpinions). Yet, within theCourt's
collegial structure, contemporary justices freely exhibit individualism, as seen in the increase of
separate opinions.
Effective action requires the cooperative participation of every justice. Collegiality does not
mandate unanimity but does demand loyalty to the institution and civil treatment of
colleagues.
Evidences of the justices' strong commitment to the Court are long tenures, unanimity in cases
that threaten institutional integrity, and resolution of internal difficulties without appeals for
external intervention. Collegial relationships sometimes may be threatened by biting opinions,
such asthosewritten by JusticeAntonin Scaliadirecting harsh languageatopposing justices, and
by divisive cases like Bush v. Gore. Still, justices assert that disagreements have not affected
their relationships and that they remain friends who respect each other and enjoy each other's
company. Justices have maintained cordial relations across ideological lines and warm
friendships have developed between some pairs with shared values. Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg, for instance, recounts a visit by Justice Scalia to give her a draft of his dissenting
opinion so she would have time to respond. Court practices remind the justices of their mutual
dependence, equal power, and personal esteem; for example, the handshakes before
conference
initiated by Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller, and the luncheons, letters, or gifts for significant
personal occasions.
Other structural characteristics and changes in the Court's environment have affected the
requirements of collegiality. The Court has remained a small group in size; therefore, skillful
chief justices can satisfy individuals and harmonize Court functioning. However, the growth of
the federal court system and the Court bureaucracy has diverted the chief justice's attention to
other duties (see Bureaucratization of the Federal Judiciary). In the nineteenth century, short
Court terms, circuit duties, and home offices limited contacts among justices. Longer Court
terms and a separate building have brought justices into proximity, and the longevity of the
current Court (with no personnel changes since 1994) has reinforced the justices' collegiality.
Conversely, heavy workloads, personal staffs, and new office technologies have focused their
energies upon individual rather than collective decision making. Resolution of the tensions
between equal authority and collective duty requires different strategies in the twenty 6first
century, when the Court has become a powerful institution and the justices work in relative
isolation.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Collective bargaining is a process of voluntary negotiation between employers and trade
unions aimed at reaching agreements which regulate working conditions. Collective
agreements
usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance
mechanisms and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.[1]
The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a
company's shareholders) or may negotiate with a federation of businesses, depending on the
country, to reach an industry wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor
contract between an employer and one or more unions. Collective bargaining consists of the
process of negotiation between representatives of a union and employers (generally
represented
by management, in some countries [which?] by an employers' organization) in respect of the
terms
and conditions of employment of employees, such as wages, hours of work, working conditions
and grievance-procedures, and about the rights and responsibilities of trade unions. The parties
often refer to the result of the negotiation as a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or as a
collective employment agreement (CEA).
Different economic theories provide a number of models intended to explain some aspects of
collective bargaining:
1. Theso-called Monopoly Union Model(Dunlop, 1944) statesthatthemonopoly union has
the power to maximise the wage rate; the firm then chooses the level of employment.
(Recent literature has started to abandon this model.[citationneeded]
2. The Right-to-Manage model, developed by the British school during the 1980s (Nickell)
views the labour union and the firm bargaining over the wage rate according to a typical
Nash Bargaining Maximin (written as ! = U # 1-, where U is the utility function of the
labour union, #theprofitofthefirmand "representsthebargaining power ofthelabour
unions).
3. Theefficientbargainingmodel(McDonald and Solow, 1981) seestheunion and thefirm
bargaining over both wagesand employment(or, morerealistically, hoursofwork). [citation
needed]
The underlying idea of collective bargaining is that the employer and employee
relations should not be decided unilaterally or with the intervention of any third
party. Both parties must reconcile their differences voluntarily through
negotiations, yielding some concessions and making sacrifices in the process.
Both should bargain from a position of strength; there should be no attempt to
exploit the weaknesses or vulnerability of one party. With the growth of union
movement all over the globe and the emergence of employers association, the
collective bargaining process has undergone significant changes. Both parties
have, more or less, realized the importance of peaceful co-existence for their
mutual benefit and continued progress
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions (e.g., medicine,
law, religion, professional psychology, and journalism). In ethics, and (in some places) in law
and alternative forms of legal dispute resolution such as mediation, some types of
communication between aperson and oneoftheseprofessionalsare"privileged"and may notbe
discussed or divulged to third parties. In thosejurisdictionsin which thelawmakesprovision for
such confidentiality, there are usually penalties for its violation.
Confidentiality has also been defined by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in ISO-17799 [1] as "ensuring that information is accessible only to those
authorized to haveaccess"and isoneofthecornerstonesofinformation security. Confidentiality
isoneofthedesign goalsfor many cryptosystems, madepossiblein practiceby thetechniquesof
modern cryptography.
Confidentiality ofinformation, enforced in an adaptation ofthemilitary'sclassic"need to
know principle, forms the cornerstone of information security in today's corporations. The so
called 'confidentiality bubble' restricts information flows, with both positive and negative
consequences.[2]
Both theprivilegeand theduty servethepurposeofencouraging clientsto speak frankly
about their cases. This way, lawyers will be able to carry out their duty to provide clients with
zealous representation. Otherwise, the opposing side may be able to surprise the lawyer in
court
with something which hedid notknowabouthisclient, which makesboth lawyer and clientlook
stupid. Also, a distrustful client might hide a relevant fact which he thinks is incriminating, but
which a skilled lawyer could turn to the client's advantage (for example, by raising affirmative
defenseslike self-defense).
However, most jurisdictions have exceptions for situations where the lawyer has reason
to believethattheclientmay killor seriously injuresomeone, may causesubstantialinjury to the
financial interest or property of another, or is using (or seeking to use) the lawyer's services to
perpetrate a crime or fraud.
In such situations the lawyer has the discretion, but not the obligation, to disclose
information designed to prevent the planned action. Most states have a version of this
discretionary disclosure rule under Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.6 (or its equivalent).
A few jurisdictions have made this traditionally discretionary duty mandatory. For
example, see the New Jersey and Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.6.
In somejurisdictionsthelawyer musttry to convincetheclientto conformhisor her conductto t
he boundaries of the law before disclosing any otherwise confidential information.
Note that these exceptions generally do not cover crimes that have already occurred, even in
extreme cases where murderers have confessed the location of missing bodies to their lawyers
butthepolicearestilllooking for thosebodies. TheU.S. SupremeCourtand many statesupreme
courtshaveaffirmed therightofalawyer to withhold information in such situations. Otherwise,
it would be impossible for any criminal defendant to obtain a zealous defense.
California is famous for having one of the strongest duties of confidentiality in the world; its
lawyers must protect client confidences at "every peril to himself or herself." Until an
amendment in 2004, California lawyers were not even permitted to disclose that a client was
about to commit murder.
Recent legislation in the UK curtails the confidentiality professionals like lawyers and
accountants can maintain at the expense of the state. Accountants, for example, are required
to
disclose to the state any suspicions of fraudulent accounting and, even, the legitimate use of
tax
saving schemes if those schemes are not already known to the tax authorities.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of
themind for which property rightsarerecognizedand thecorresponding fieldsoflaw. [1] Under
intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible
assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words,
phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights,
trademarks, patents, industrial design rightsand trade secretsin some jurisdictions.
Richard Stallman argues that, although the term intellectual property is in wide use, it
should be rejected altogether, because it "systematically distorts and confuses these issues, and
its use was and is promoted by those who gain from this confusion." He claims that the term
"operates as a catch-all to lump together disparate laws [which] originated separately, evolved
differently, cover different activities, have different rules, and raise different public policy
issues" and that it confuses these monopolies with ownership of limited physical things.
Stallman advocates referring to copyrights, patents and trademarks in the singular and warns
against abstracting disparate laws into a collective term.
Somecriticsofintellectualproperty, such as thosein thefreeculturemovement, pointat
intellectual monopolies as harming health, preventing progress, and benefiting concentrated
intereststo thedetrimentofthemasses, [16][17] and arguethatthepublicinterestisharmed by ever
expansivemonopoliesin theformofcopyrightextensions, softwarepatentsand businessmethod
patents.
There is also criticism [by whom?] because strict intellectual property rights can inhibit the
flow of innovations to poor nations. Developing countries have benefitted from the spread of
developed country technologies, such as the internet, mobile phone, vaccines, and high-
yielding
grains. Many intellectual property rights, such as patent laws, arguably go too far in protecting
those who produce innovations at the expense of those who use them. [citation needed] The
Commitment to Development Index measures donor government policies and ranks them on
the
"friendliness" of their intellectual property rights to the developing world.
Some libertarian critics of intellectual property have argued that allowing property rights
in ideas and information creates artificial scarcity and infringes on the right to own tangible
property. Stephan Kinsella uses the following scenario to argue this point:
Imagine the time when men lived in caves. One bright guylet's call him Galt-
Magnondecidesto build alog cabin on an open field, near hiscrops. To besure, thisisagood
idea, and others notice it. They naturally imitate Galt-Magnon, and they start building their own
cabins. But the first man to invent a house, according to IP advocates, would have a right to
prevent others from building houses on their own land, with their own logs, or to charge them
a
fee if they do build houses. It is plain that the innovator in these examples becomes a partial
owner ofthetangibleproperty (e.g., land and logs) ofothers, duenotto firstoccupation and use
ofthatproperty (for itisalready owned), butdueto hiscoming up with an idea. Clearly, thisrule
flies in the face of the first-user homesteading rule, arbitrarily and groundlessly overriding the
very homesteading rule that isat the foundation of all property rights. [18]
Other criticism of intellectual property law concerns the tendency of the protections of
intellectual property to expand, both in duration and in scope. The trend has been toward
longer
copyrightprotection [19] (raising fearsthatitmay someday beeternal). [20][21][22][23] In
addition, the
developers and controllers of items of intellectual property have sought to bring more items
under the protection. Patents have been granted for living organisms, [24] and colors have
been
trademarked.[25] Because they are systems of government-granted monopolies copyrights,
patents, and trademarks are called intellectual monopoly privileges, (IMP) a topic on which
several academics, including Birgitte Andersen[26] and Thomas Alured Faunce[27] have
written.
In 2005 the RSA launched the Adelphi Charter, aimed at creating an international policy
statement to frame how governments should make balanced intellectual property law.

Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property rights is a legal concept that confers rights to owners and creators of the
work, for their intellectual creativity. Such rights can be granted for areas related to literature,
music, invention etc, which are used in the business practices. In general, the intellectual
property law offers exclusionary rights to the creator or inventor against any misappropriation
or
useof work without his/her prior knowledge. Intellectual property law establishes an
equilibrium
by granting rights for limited duration of time.
Every nation has framed their own intellectual property laws. But on international level it is
governed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 and the 'Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary
and Artistic Works' in 1886 were first conventions which have recognized the importance of
safeguarding intellectual property. Both the treaties are under the direct administration of the
WIPO. The WIPO convention lays down following list of the activities or work which are
covered by the intellectual property rights-
Industrial designs
Scientific discoveries
Protection against unfair competition
Literary, artistic and scientific works
Inventions in all fields of human endeavor
Performances of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts
Trademarks, service marks and commercial names and designations
All other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or
artistic fields.
Types of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual Property Rights signifies to the bundle of exclusionary rights which can be further
categorized into the following heads-
Copyright
Copyright, one of the form of intellectual property right, offers exclusive rights for
protecting the authorship of original & creative work like dramatic, musical and literary
in nature. Symbolized as "", here the term ....
Patent
A patent is termed as the exclusionary rights given by the government or the authorized
authority to its inventor for a particular duration of time, in respect of his invention. It is
the part of the intellectual property right ....
Trademark
The trademark or trade mark, symbolized as the and , is the distinctive sign or
indication which is used for signifying some kind of goods or/and services and is
distinctively used across the business ....
Trade Secrets
Trade secret points towards a formula, pattern, any instrument, design which is kept
confidential and through which any business or trade can edge over its rival and can
enjoy economic gain. Trade secrets can be ....
Utility Model
The utility model is the intellectual property right for protecting the inventions. It is
somehow described as the statutory monopoly which is bestow upon for the fixed
duration of time in exchange to the inventor for ....
Geographical Indication
Geographical Indication (GI) signifies to the name or sign, used in reference to the
products which are corresponding to the particular geographical area or somewhat related
to the origin like town, region or nation.
Industrial Design Rights
Industrial design rights are defined as the part of the intellectual property rights which
confers the rights of exclusivity to the visual designs of objects whichare generally not
popular utilitarian. It safeguards the ....
Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights help in providing exclusive rights to creator or inventor, thereby
induces them to distribute and share information and data instead of keeping it confidential. It
provides legal protection and offers them incentive of their work. Rights granted under the
intellectual property act helps in socio and economic development.
Intellectual Property Rights in India
India has defined the establishment of statutory, administrative and judicial framework for
protecting the intellectual property rights in the Indian territory, whether they connotes with
the
copyright, patent, trademark, industrial designs or with other parts.
Tuning with the changing industrial world, the intellectual property rights have continued to
strengthen its position in the India. In 1999, the government has passed the important
legislation
in relation to the protection of intellectual property rights on the terms of the worldwide
practices
and in accordance to the India's obligations under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights. It consists of-
The Patents(Amendment) Act, 1999 which was passed on 10th March, 1999 in the Indian
Parliament for amending the Patents Act of 1970 which in turns facilitate to establish the
mail box system for filing patents and accords with the exclusive marketing rights for the
time period of 5 years.
The Trade Marks Bill, 1999 was passed in the India parliamentduring the winter session
for replacing the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958. It was passed on 23rd
December, 1999.
The Copyright(Amendment) Act, 1999 was passed by both upper house and lower house
of the Indian parliament and was later on signed by the Indian president on 30th
December, 1999.
The sui generis legislation was approved by both houses of the Indian parliament on 23rd
December, 1999 and was named as the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration
& Protection) Bill, 1999.
The Industrial Designs Bill, 1999 was passed in the Upper House of the Indian
parliament for replacing the Designs Act, 1911.
The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 was itroduced in the upper house of the
parliament for further amending the Patents Act 1970 andmaking it compliance with the
TRIPS.
Along with the above legislative measures, the Indian government has introduced several
changes for streamlining and bolstering the intellectual property administration system in the
nation. Several projects concerning to the modernizing of the patent information services and
trademark registry have been undergone with the help of the World Intellectual Property
Organization/ United Nations Development Programme.
DISCRIMINATION
Discrimination is a sociological term referring to the prejudicial treatment of an
individual based solely on their membership (whether voluntary or involuntary) in a certain
group or category. Discrimination is the actual behavior towards members of another group. It
involves excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to
other groups. [1] The United Nations explains: "Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but
they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection." [2] Discriminatory laws such as redlining
have existed in many countries. In some countries, controversial attempts such as racial quotas
have been used to redress negative effects of discrimination.
Racial discrimination differentiates between individuals on the basis of real and perceived racial
differences, and hasbeen officialgovernmentpolicy in severalcountries, such asSouth Africain
theapartheidera, and the USA.
In the United States, racial profiling of minorities by law enforcement officials has been
called racial discrimination. [3] As early as 1865, the Civil Rights Act provided a remedy for
intentional race discrimination in employment by private employers and state and local public
employers. TheCivilRightsActof1871appliesto publicemploymentor employmentinvolving
state action prohibiting deprivation of rights secured by the federal constitution or federal laws
through action under color of law. Title VII is the principal federal statute with regard to
employment discrimination prohibiting unlawful employment discrimination by public and
private employers, labor organizations, training programs and employment agencies based on
race or color,religion, gender, and national origin.
TitleVII also prohibitsretaliation againstany person for opposing any practiceforbidden
by statute, or for making acharge, testifying, assisting, or participating in aproceeding under the
statute. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 expanded the damages available in Title VII cases and
granted Title VII plaintiffs the right to a jury trial. Title VII also provides that race and color
discrimination against every race and color is prohibited.
In the UK the inquiry following the murder of Stephen Lawrence accused the police of
institutional racism.
Weaver v NATFHE (now part of the UCU) Race/sex dicrimination case. An Industrial
(Employment) Tribunalin theUKin 1987 decided thatatradeunion wasjustified in not
assisting a black woman member complaining of racist/sexist harassment, regardless of
the merits of the case, because the accused male would lose his job. The Employment
Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision, which still stands today as the definitive legal
precedent in this field. It is also known as the Bournville College Racial Harassment
issue.
Within the criminal justice system in some Western countries, minorities are convicted and
imprisoned disproportionately when compared with whites. [4][5] In 1998, nearly one out of
three
black men between theagesof 20-29 were in prison or jail, on probation or paroleon any given
day in the United States. [6] First Nations make up about 2% of Canada's population, but
account
for 18% ofthefederalprison population asof2000. [7] According to theAustralian government's
June2006 publication ofprison statistics, indigenouspeoplesmakeup 24% oftheoverallprison
population in Australia. *8+ In 2004, Mor i made up just 15% of the total population of New
Zealandbut49.5% ofprisoners. M$oriwereentering prison at8 timestherateofnon-M$ori. [9] A
quarter ofthepeoplein England'sprisonsarefroman ethnicminority. TheEquality and Human
Rights Commission found that five times more black people than white people per head of
population in England and Wales are imprisoned. Experts and politicians said
overrepresentation
of black men was a result of decades of racial prejudice in the criminal justice
system.[10]
!"#%&'()&*&+,-&.+
Main article: Ageism
Agediscriminationis discrimination on thegroundsof age. Although theoretically theword can
refer to the discrimination against any age group, age discrimination usually comes in one of
three forms: discrimination against youth (also called adultism), discrimination against those 40
years old or older,[11] and discrimination against elderly people.
In the United States, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits employment
discrimination nationwide based on age with respect to employees 40 years of age or older.
The
Age Discrimination in Employment Act also addresses the difficulty older workers face in
obtaining new employment after being displaced from their jobs, arbitrary age limits.
On the other hand, the UK Equality Act 2010 protects young employees as well as old. Other
countries go even further and make age discrimination a criminal offence.[12]
In many countries, companies more or less openly refuse to hire people above a certain age
despite the increasing lifespans and average age of the population. The reasons for this range
from vague feelings younger people are more "dynamic" and create a positive image for the
company, to more concrete concerns about regulations granting older employees higher
salaries
or other benefits without these expenses being fully justified by an older employees' greater
experience. Unions cite age as the most common form of discrimination in the workplace. [13]
Workers ages 45 and over form a disproportionate share of the long-term unemployed those
who have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.[14]
Somepeopleconsider thatteenagersand youth(around 1525 yearsold) arevictimsofadultism,
age discrimination framed as a paternalistic form of protection. In seeking social justice, they
feelthatitisnecessary to removetheuseofafalsemoralagendain order to achieveagency and
empowerment.
Thisperspectiveisbased on thegroundsthatyouth should betreated morerespectfully by adults
and not as second-class citizens. Some suggest that social stratification in age groups causes
outsiders to incorrectly stereotype and generalize the group, for instance that all adolescents
are
equally immature, violentor rebellious, listen to rock tunes, and do drugs. Somehaveorganized
groups against age discrimination.
Ageism is the causal effect of a continuum of fears related to age. [citation needed] This
continuum
includes:
Ephebiphobia: the fear of youth.
Gerontophobia: the fear of elderly people.
Pediaphobia: the fear of infants or small children.
Related terms include:
Adultism: Also called adultarchy, adult privilege, and adultcentrism/adultocentrism, this
is the wielding of authority over young people and the preference of adults before
children and youth.
Jeunism:Also called "youthism"istheholding ofbeliefsor actionstaken thatpreference
'younger' people before adults.
Though gender discrimination and sexismrefers to beliefs and attitudes in relation to thegender
ofaperson, such beliefsand attitudesareofasocialnatureand do not, normally, carry any legal
consequences. Sexdiscrimination, on the other hand, may have legal consequences.
Though what constitutes sex discrimination varies between countries, the essence is that it is
an
adverse action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had
the
person been ofanother sex. Discrimination ofthatnaturein certain enumerated circumstancesis
illegal in many countries.
Currently, discrimination based on sex is defined as adverse action against another person, that
would not have occurred had the person been of another sex. This is considered a form of
prejudiceand is illegal in certain enumerated circumstances in most countries.
Sexual discrimination can arise in different contexts. For instance an employee may be
discriminated againstby being asked discriminatory questionsduring ajob interview, or because
an employer did not hire, promote or wrongfully terminated an employee based on his or her
gender, or employers pay unequally based on gender.
In an educational setting there could be claims that a student was excluded from an
educational
institution, program, opportunity, loan, studentgroup, or scholarship dueto hisor her gender. In
the housing setting there could be claims that a person was refused negotiations on seeking a
house, contracting/leasing a house or getting a loan based on his or her gender. Another setting
where there have been claims of gender discrimination is banking; for example if one is refused
credit or is offered unequal loan terms based on ones gender.*15+
Another setting wherethereisusually gender discrimination iswhen oneisrefused to extend his
or her credit, refused approval of credit/loan process, and if there is a burden of unequal loan
terms based on ones gender.
Socially, sexual differences have been used to justify different roles for men and women, in
some cases giving rise to claims of primary and secondary roles.[16]
Whiletherearealleged non-physicaldifferencesbetween men and women, major reviewsofthe
academic literature on gender difference find only a tiny minority of characteristics where there
are consistent psychological differences between men and women, and these relate directly to
experiences grounded in biological difference. [17] However, there are also some psychological
differences in regard to how problems are dealt with and emotional perceptions and reactions
which may relate to hormones and the successful characteristics of each gender during
longstanding roles in past primitive lifestyles.
Unfair discrimination usually follows thegender stereotypingheld by a society.
The United Nations had concluded that women often experience a "glass ceiling" and that there
are no societies in which women enjoy the same opportunities as men. The term "glass ceiling"
is used to describe a perceived barrier to advancement in employment based on discrimination,
especially sex discrimination.
In theUnited Statesin 1995, theGlassCeiling Commission, agovernment-funded group, stated:
"Over half of all Masters degrees are now awarded to women, yet 95% of senior-level
managers, ofthetop Fortune1000 industrialand 500 servicecompanies are men. Ofthem, 97%
are white." In its report, it recommended affirmative action, which is the consideration of an
employee's gender and race in hiring and promotion decisions, as a means to end this form of
discrimination.[18] In 2008, women accounted for 51% of all workers in the high-paying
management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men in such
occupations
as public relations managers; financial managers; and human resource managers.[19]
TheChina'sleading headhunter, Chinahr.com, reported in 2007 thattheaveragesalary for
whitecollar
men was 44,000 yuan ($6,441), compared with 28,700 yuan ($4,201) for women. [20]
The PwC research found that among FTSE 350 companies in the United Kingdom in 2002
almost 40% of senior management posts were occupied by women. When that research was
repeated in 2007, the number of senior management posts held by women had fallen to
22%.[21]
Transgender individuals, both male to female and female to male, often experience problems
which often lead to dismissals, underachievement, difficulty in finding a job, social isolation,
and, occasionally, violent attacks against them. Nevertheless, the problem of gender
discrimination does not stop at trandgender individuals nor with women. Men are often the
victimin certain areasofemploymentasmen begin to seek work in officeand childcaresettings
traditionally perceived as "women's jobs". One such situation seems to be evident in a recent
case concerning alleged YMCA discrimination and a Federal Court Case in Texas. [citation
needed]
Thecaseactually involvesalleged discrimination againstboth men and blacksin childcare, even
when they pass the same strict background tests and other standards of employment. It is
currently being contended in federal court, as of fall 2009, and sheds light on how a workplace
dominated by a majority (- women in this case) sometimes will seemingly "justify" whatever
they wish to do, regardlessofthelaw. Thismay bedoneasan effortatself-protection, to uphold
traditional societal roles, or some other faulty, unethical or illegal prejudicial reasoning.
Affirmative action also leads to white men being discriminated against for entry level and blue
collar positions. An employer cannot hire a white man with the same "on paper" qualifications
over a woman or minority worker or the employer will face prosecution
 Unit V Global Issues

MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS

A multinational corporation (MNC), also called a transnational corporation (TNC), or

multinational enterprise (MNE), is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or

delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international

corporation. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has defined[citation needed] an

MNC as a corporation that has its management headquarters in one country, known as the

home country, and operates in several other countries, known as host countries.

The Dutch East India Company was the first multinational corporation in the world

and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation,

possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties,

coin money, and establish colonies.

The first modern multinational corporation is generally thought to be the East India

Company. Many corporations have offices, branches or manufacturing plants in different

countries from where their original and main headquarters is located.

Some multinational corporations are very big, with budgets that exceed some nations' GDPs.

Multinational corporations can have a powerful influence in local economies, and even the

world economy, and play an important role in international relations and globalization

Multinational corporations have played an important role in globalization. Countries and

sometimes subnational regions must compete against one another for the establishment of

MNC facilities, and the subsequent tax revenue, employment, and economic activity. To

compete, countries and regional political districts sometimes offer incentives to MNCs such

as tax breaks, pledges of governmental assistance or improved infrastructure, or lax

environmental and labor standards enforcement. This process of becoming more attractive to

foreign investment can be characterized as a race to the bottom, a push towards greater

autonomy for corporate bodies, or both.

However, some scholars for instance the Columbia economist Jagdish Bhagwati, have

argued that multinationals are engaged in a 'race to the top.'While multinationals certainly

regard a low tax burden or low labor costs as an element of comparative advantage, there is

no evidence to suggest that MNCs deliberately avail themselves of lax environmental

regulation or poor labour standards. As Bhagwati has pointed out, MNC profits are tied to

operational efficiency, which includes a high degree of standardisation. Thus, MNCs are

likely to tailor production processes in all of their operations in conformity to those

jurisdictions where they operate (which will almost always include one or more of the US,

Japan or EU) that has the most rigorous standards. As for labor costs, while MNCs clearly

pay workers in, e.g. Vietnam, much less than they would in the US (though it is worth noting

that higher American productivitylinked to technologymeans that any comparison is

tricky, since in America the same company would probably hire far fewer people and

automate whatever process they performed in Vietnam with manual labour), it is also the case

that they tend to pay a premium of between 10% and 100% on local labor rates.[10] Finally,

depending on the nature of the MNC, investment in any country reflects a desire for a longterm

return. Costs associated with establishing plant, training workers, etc., can be very high;

once established in a jurisdiction, therefore, many MNCs are quite vulnerable to predatory

practices such as, e.g., expropriation, sudden contract renegotiation, the arbitrary withdrawal

or compulsory purchase of unnecessary 'licenses,' etc. Thus, both the negotiating power of

MNCs and the supposed 'race to the bottom' may be overstated, while the substantial benefits

that MNCs bring (tax revenues aside) are often understated

Market withdrawal

Because of their size, multinationals can have a significant impact on government

policy, primarily through the threat of market withdrawal. For example, in an effort to reduce

health care costs, some countries have tried to force pharmaceutical companies to license

their patented drugs to local competitors for a very low fee, thereby artificially lowering the

price. When faced with that threat, multinational pharmaceutical firms have simply

withdrawn from the market, which often leads to limited availability of advanced drugs. In

these cases, governments have been forced to back down from their efforts. Similar corporate

and government confrontations have occurred when governments tried to force MNCs to

make their intellectual property public in an effort to gain technology for local entrepreneurs.

When companies are faced with the option of losing a core competitive technological

advantage or withdrawing from a national market, they may choose the latter. This

withdrawal often causes governments to change policy. Countries that have been the most

successful in this type of confrontation with multinational corporations are large countries

such as United States and Brazil[citation needed], which have viable indigenous market

competitors.

Lobbying

Multinational corporate lobbying is directed at a range of business concerns, from

tariff structures to environmental regulations. There is no unified multinational perspective on

any of these issues. Companies that have invested heavily in pollution control mechanisms

may lobby for very tough environmental standards in an effort to force non-compliant

competitors into a weaker position. Corporations lobby tariffs to restrict competition of

foreign industries. For every tariff category that one multinational wants to have reduced,

there is another multinational that wants the tariff raised. Even within the U.S. auto industry,
the fraction of a company's imported components will vary, so some firms favor tighter

import restrictions, while others favor looser ones. Says Ely Oliveira, Manager Director of

the MCT/IR: This is very serious and is very hard and takes a lot of work for the owner.pk

Multinational corporations such as Wal-mart and McDonald's benefit from government

zoning laws, to create barriers to entry.

Many industries such as General Electric and Boeing lobby the government to receive

subsidies to preserve their monopoly.

Patents

Many multinational corporations hold patents to prevent competitors from arising. For

example, Adidas holds patents on shoe designs, Siemens A.G. holds many patents on

equipment and infrastructure and Microsoft benefits from software patents. The

pharmaceutical companies lobby international agreements to enforce patent laws on others.

Government power

In addition to efforts by multinational corporations to affect governments, there is

much government action intended to affect corporate behavior. The threat of nationalization

(forcing a company to sell its local assets to the government or to other local nationals) or

changes in local business laws and regulations can limit a multinational's power. These issues

become of increasing importance because of the emergence of MNCs in developing

countries.

Micro-multinationals

Enabled by Internet based communication tools, a new breed of multinational

companies is growing in numbers.(Copeland, Michael V. (2006-06-29). "How startups go

global". CNN.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/28/magazines/business2/startupsgoglobal.biz2/index.htm.
Retrieved 2010-05-13.) These multinationals start operating in different countries from the

very early stages. These companies are being called micro-multinationals. (Varian, Hal R.

(2005-08-25). "Technology Levels the Business Playing Field". The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/business/25scene.html. Retrieved 2010-05-13.) What

differentiates micro-multinationals from the large MNCs is the fact that they are small

businesses. Some of these micro-multinationals, particularly software development

companies, have been hiring employees in multiple countries from the beginning of the

Internet era. But more and more micro-multinationals are actively starting to market their

products and services in various countries. Internet tools like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ebay and

Amazon make it easier for the micro-multinationals to reach potential customers in other

countries.

Service sector micro-multinationals, like Facebook, Alibaba etc. started as dispersed

virtual businesses with employees, clients and resources located in various countries. Their

rapid growth is a direct result of being able to use the internet, cheaper telephony and lower

traveling costs to create unique business opportunities.

Low cost SaaS (Software As A Service) suites make it easier for these companies to

operate without a physical office.

Hal Varian, Chief Economist at Google and a professor of information economics at U.C.

Berkeley, said in April 2010, "Immigration today, thanks to the Web, means something very

different than it used to mean. There's no longer a brain drain but brain circulation. People

now doing startups understand what opportunities are available to them around the world and

work to harness it from a distance rather than move people from one place to another."

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Environmental ethics believes in the ethical relationship between human beings and
the natural environment. Human beings are a part of the society and so are the other living

beings. When we talk about the philosophical principle that guides our life, we often ignore

the fact that even plants and animals are a part of our lives. They are an integral part of the

environment and hence have a right to be considered a part of the human life. On these lines,

it is clear that they should also be associated with our guiding principles as well as our moral

and ethical values.

What is Environmental Ethics?

We are cutting down forests for making our homes. We are continuing with an

excessive consumption of natural resources. Their excessive use is resulting in their

depletion, risking the life of our future generations. Is this ethical? This is the issue that

environmental ethics takes up. Scientists like Rachel Carson and the environmentalists who

led philosophers to consider the philosophical aspect of environmental problems, pioneered

in the development of environmental ethics as a branch of environmental philosophy.

The Earth Day celebration of 1970 was also one of the factors, which led to the

development of environmental ethics as a separate field of study. This field received impetus

when it was first discussed in the academic journals in North America and Canada. Around

the same time, this field also emerged in Australia and Norway. Today, environmental ethics

is one of the major concerns of mankind.

When industrial processes lead to destruction of resources, is it not the industry's

responsibility to restore the depleted resources? Moreover, can a restored environment make

up for the originally natural one? Mining processes hamper the ecology of certain areas; they

may result in the disruption of plant and animal life in those areas. Slash and burn techniques

are used for clearing the land for agriculture.

Most of the human activities lead to environmental pollution. The overly increasing
human population is increasing the human demand for resources like food and shelter. As the

population is exceeding the carrying capacity of our planet, natural environments are being

used for human inhabitation.

Thus human beings are disturbing the balance in the nature. The harm we, as human

beings, are causing to the nature, is coming back to us b resulting in a polluted environment.

The depletion of natural resources is endangering our future generations. The imbalance in

nature that we have caused is going to disrupt our life as well. But environmental ethics

brings about the fact that all the life forms on Earth have a right to live. By destroying the

nature, we are depriving these life forms of their right to live. We are going against the true

ethical and moral values by disturbing the balance in nature. We are being unethical in

treating the plant and animal life forms, which coexist in society.

Human beings have certain duties towards their fellow beings. On similar lines, we

have a set of duties towards our environment. Environmental ethics says that we should base

our behavior on a set of ethical values that guide our approach towards the other living beings

in nature.

Environmental ethics is about including the rights of non-human animals in our

ethical and moral values. Even if the human race is considered the primary concern of

society, animals and plants are in no way less important. They have a right to get their fair

share of existence.

We, the human beings, along with the other forms of life make up our society. We all

are a part of the food chain and thus closely associated with each other. We, together form

our environment. The conservation of natural resources is not only the need of the day but

also our prime duty.

COMPUTER ETHICS
Ethics is a set of moral principles that govern the behavior of a group or individual.

Therefore, computer ethics is set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some

common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted

electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society.

For example, while it is easy to duplicate copyrighted electronic (or digital) content,

computer ethics would suggest that it is wrong to do so without the author's approval. And

while it may be possible to access someone's personal information on a computer system,

computer ethics would advise that such an action is unethical.

As technology advances, computers continue to have a greater impact on society.

Therefore, computer ethics promotes the discussion of how much influence computers should

have in areas such as artificial intelligence and human communication. As the world of

computers evolves, computer ethics continues to create ethical standards that address new

issues raised by new technologies.

WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT

A weapon is an instrument used for the purpose of causing harm or damage to people,

animals or structures. Weapons are used in hunting, attack, self-defense, or defense in combat

and range from simple implements like clubs and spears to complicated modern machines

such as intercontinental ballistic missiles. One who possesses or carries a weapon is said to be

armed.

In a broader context weapons include anything used to gain an advantage over an

adversary or to place them at a disadvantage. Examples include the use of sieges, tactics, and

psychological weapons which reduce the morale of an enemy

Classification

By user
- what person or unit uses the weapon

Personal weapons (or small arms) - designed to be used by a single person.

Hunting weapon - primarily for hunting game animals for food or sport

Infantry support weapons - larger than personal weapons, requiring two or more to

operate correctly.

Fortification weapons - mounted in a permanent installation, or used primarily within

a fortification.

Mountain weapons - for use by mountain forces or those operating in difficult terrain.

Vehicle weapons - to be mounted on any type of military vehicle.

Railway weapons - designed to be mounted on railway cars, including armored trains.

Aircraft weapons - carried on and used by some type of aircraft, helicopter, or other

aerial vehicle.

Naval weapons - mounted on ships and submarines.

Space weapons - are designed to be used in or launched from space.

By function

- the construction of the weapon and principle of operation

Antimatter weapons (theoretical) would combine matter and antimatter to cause a

powerful explosion.

Archery weapons operate by using a tensioned string to launch a projectile.

Artillery are capable of launching heavy projectiles over long distances.

Biological weapons spread biological agents, causing disease or infection.

Chemical weapons, poisoning and causing reactions.

Energy weapons rely on concentrating forms of energy to attack, such as lasers or

sonic attack.
Explosive weapons use a physical explosion to create blast concussion or spread

shrapnel.

Firearms use a chemical charge to launch projectiles.

Improvised weapons are common objects, reused as weapons.

Incendiary weapons cause damage by fire.

Non-lethal weapons are designed to subdue without killing.

Magnetic weapons use magnetic fields to propel projectiles, or to focus particle

beams.

Melee weapons operate as physical extensions of the user's body and directly impact
their target.
Missiles are rockets which are guided to their target after launch. (Also a general term
for projectile weapons).
Nuclear weapons use radioactive materials to create nuclear fission and/or nuclear
fusion detonations.
Primitive weapons make little or no use of technological or industrial elements.
Ranged weapons (unlike Mle weapons), target a distant object or person.
Rockets use chemical propellant to accelerate a projectile
Suicide weapons exploit the willingness of their operator to not survive the attack.
Trojan weapons appear on face value to be gifts, though the intent is to in some way
to harm the recipient.
By target
- the type of target the weapon is designed to attack
Anti-aircraft weapons target missiles and aerial vehicles in flight.
Anti-fortification weapons are designed to target enemy installations.
Anti-personnel weapons are designed to attack people, either individually or in
numbers.
Anti-radiation weapons target sources of electronic radiation, particularly radar
emitters.
Anti-satellite weapons target orbiting satellites.
Anti-ship weapons target ships and vessels on water.
Anti-submarine weapons target submarines and other underwater targets.
Anti-tank weapons are designed to defeat armored targets.
Area denial weapons target territory, making it unsafe or unsuitable for enemy use or
travel.
Hunting weapons are civilian weapons used to hunt animals.
Infantry support weapons are designed to attack various threats to infantry units
CONSULTING ENGINEERS
Consultants are individuals who typically work for themselves but may also be associated with a
consulting firm. They, for a fee, gives advice or provides a service in a field of specialized
knowledge or training. Most consultants carry their own life and health insurance, pay their
own
taxes, most have their own tools and equipment. The consultant can work alone or with the
client's
staff.
Consultants can play a multi-faceted role. They can, for example function as advisors, fixers,
bosses, generalists, stabilizers, listeners, advisors, specialists, catalysts, managers or
quasiemployees.
The actual work that consultants perform for one company to another may vary greatly,
i.e. tax account to office decoration. However, the typical underlying reasons that a consultant
is
hired are universal. A problem exists and the owner or manager of the company has decided to
seek
the help of an expert.
Bringing in an expert can save time, effort and money. It has been estimated that
approximately 3/4
of all companies call upon consultants at one time or another. Many companies claim that they
receive a higher return for their invested dollars by using consultants for specific tasks.
Most companies have experienced the problem of needing short-term technical expertise.
Perhaps
the company's existing staff is already working to capacity. In many cases, the engineering skills
required for a project can be satisfied with a full time employee. When they can not fully justify
bringing someone on board full time, their answer is to hire a consultant. By doing so, the
businessman solves his immediate problem without permanently increasing his payroll and
payroll
taxes.
Consultants can be hired when the company may not have anyone on staff capable of solving
the
specific problem. At such times, a costly learning curve on the part of the engineering staff is
associated with the project. One example is using a consultant as a viable alternative during the
development stages of new products. Hiring a consultant with experience in a given area can
then
cut days, weeks or even months off a project schedule. In addition, he can help the staff avoid
mistakes they may otherwise make. When the project reaches a certain point, the permanent
staff
can then take over.
Consultants can deal directly with owners and upper management. In this role, consultants can
provide an objective third-party view point. Critical objectives can then be identified and advise
given in confidence.
Consultants are a viable alternative in assisting in feasibility studies or in proposal preparation.
Perhaps the manager cannot justify shifting the duties of existing staff members.
Another time that consultants become useful is when a company is just starting a business. The
development of the company's new product can be begun by the consultant while a full time
permanent technical staff member is being hired.
Finding the right consultant can be difficult. Managers can rely on referrals from their friends or
hire the consultant who happens to call at the right time. Once the decisions is made to hire a
consultant, the need is immediate and one may not have the time to shop for a consultant. As a
part
of planning ahead, it is wise to meet various consultants on an informal basis before the need
to
hire one arises. Then when the time comes, you will know exactly who to call for you have
already
established an informal relationship
ETHICS IN ASCE
To preserve the high ethical standards of the civil engineering profession, the Society's ethics
program includes:
Edict
The Society maintains a Code of Ethics.
Enforcement
The Society enforces the Code by investigating potential violations of the Code and
taking disciplinary action if warranted.
Education
The Society endeavors to educate its members and the public on ethics issues.
IEEE code of Ethics
1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and
welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public
or the environment;
2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose
them to affected parties when they do exist;
3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
4. to reject bribery in all its forms;
5. to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential
consequences;
6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological
tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of
pertinent limitations;
7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and
correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
8. to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender,
disability, age, or national origin;
9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or
malicious action;
10. to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support
them in following this code of ethics
Ethics in Indian Institute of Materials and Management
To consider first, the TOTAL interest to ones organization in all transactions
without impairing the dignity and responsibility to ones office;
To buy without prejudice, seeking to obtain the maximum ultimate value for each
Rupee of Expenditure;
To subscribe and work for honesty and truth in buying and selling, to denounce all
forms and manifestations of commercial bribery and to eschew anti-social
practices;
To accord a prompt and courteous reception so far as conditions will permit, to all
who call upon a legitimate business mission;
To respect ones obligations and those of ones organization, consistent with good business
practice
Ethics in Institute of Engineers
1.1 Engineers serve all members of the community in enhancing their welfare, health and
safety by a creative process utilising the engineers knowledge, expertise and experience.
1.2 Pursuant to the avowed objectives of The Institution of Engineers (India) as enshrined in
the presents of the Royal Charter granted to the Institution, the Council of the Institution
prescribed a set of "Professional Conduct Rules" in the year 1944 replacing the same with the
"Code of Ethics for Corporate Members" in the year 1954 which was revised in the year
1997.
1.3 In view of globalisation, concern for the environment and the concept of sustainable
development, it has been felt that the prevailing "Code of Ethics for Corporate Members"
needs review and revision in letter and spirit. The engineering organisations world over have
updated their Code of Ethics.
1.4 The Council of the Institution vested with the authority in terms of the Present 2(j) of
the Royal Charter adopted at its 626th meeting held on 21.12.2003 at Lucknow the "Code of
Ethics for Corporate Members" as provided hereinafter.
1.5 The Code of Ethics is based on broad principles of truth, honesty, justice,
trustworthiness, respect and safeguard of human life and welfare, competence and
accountability which constitute the moral values every Corporate Member of the Institution
must recognize, uphold and abide by.
1.6 This "Code of Ethics for Corporate Members" shall be in force till the same is revised
by a decision of the Council of the Institution.
CODE OF ETHICS FOR Institute of Engineers
1.0 Preamble
1.1 The Corporate Members of The Institution of Engineers (India) are committed to
promote and practice the profession of engineering for the common good of the community
bearing in mind the following concerns :
1.1.1 Concern for ethical standard;
1.1.2 Concern for social justice, social order and human rights;
1.1.3 Concern for protection of the environment;
1.1.4 Concern for sustainable development;
1.1.5 Public safety and tranquility.
2.0 The Tenets of the Code of Ethics
2.1 A Corporate Member shall utilise his knowledge and expertise for the welfare, health
and safety of the community without any discrimination for sectional or private interests.
2.2 A Corporate Member shall maintain the honour, integrity and dignity in all his
professional actions to be worthy of the trust of the community and the profession.
2.3 A Corporate Member shall act only in the domains of his competence and with
diligence, care, sincerity and honesty.
2.4 A Corporate Member shall apply his knowledge and expertise in the interest of his
employer or the clients for whom he shall work without compromising with other obligations
to these Tenets.
2.5 A Corporate Member shall not falsify or misrepresent his own or his associates'
qualifications, experience, etc.
2.6 A Corporate Member, wherever necessary and relevant, shall take all reasonable steps
to inform himself, his employer or clients, of the environmental, economic, social and other
possible consequences, which may arise out of his actions.
2.7 A Corporate Member shall maintain utmost honesty and fairness in making statements
or giving witness and shall do so on the basis of adequate knowledge.
2.8 A Corporate Member shall not directly or indirectly injure the professional reputation
of another member.
2.9 A Corporate Member shall reject any kind of offer that may involve unfair practice or
may cause avoidable damage to the ecosystem.
2.10 A Corporate Member shall be concerned about and shall act in the best of his abilities
for maintenance of sustainability of the process of development.
2.11 A Corporate Member shall not act in any manner which may injure the reputation of
the Institution or which may cause any damage to the Institution financially or otherwise.
3.0 General Guidance
The Tenets of the Code of Ethics are based on the recognition that
3.1 A common tie exists among the humanity and that The Institution of Engineers (India)
derives its value from the people, so that the actions of its Corporate Members should
indicate the members highest regard for equality of opportunity, social justice and fairness;
3.2 The Corporate Members of the Institution hold a privileged position in the community
so as to make it a necessity for their not using the position for personal and sectional interests.
4.0 And, as such, a Corporate Member
4.1 should keep his employer or client fully informed on all matters in respect of his
assignment which are likely to lead to a conflict of interest or when, in his judgement, a
project will not be viable on the basis of commercial, technical, environmental or any other
risks;
4.2 should maintain confidentiality of any information with utmost sincerity unless
expressly permitted to disclose such information or unless such permission, if withheld, may
adversely affect the welfare, health and safety of the community;
4.3 should neither solicit nor accept financial or other considerations from anyone related
to a project or assignment of which he is in the charge;
4.4 should neither pay nor offer direct or indirect inducements to secure work;
4.5 should compete on the basis of merit alone;
4.6 should refrain from inducing a client to breach a contract entered into with another duly
appointed engineer;
4.7 should, if asked by the employer or a client, to review the work of another person or
organisation, discuss the review with the other person or organisation to arrive at a balanced
opinion;
4.8 should make statements or give evidence before a tribunal or a court of law in an
objective and accurate manner and express any opinion on the basis of adequate knowledge
and competence; and
4.9 should reveal the existence of any interest pecuniary or otherwise which may affect
the judgement while giving an evidence or making a statement.
5.0 Any decision of the Council as per provisions of the relevant Bye-Laws of the
Institution shall be final and binding on all Corporate Members
ASME Code of Ethics of Engineers
ASME requires ethical practice by each of its members and has adopted the following Code
of Ethics of Engineers as referenced in the ASME Constitution, Article C2.1.1.
CODE OF ETHICS OF ENGINEERS
The Fundamental Principles
Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession
by:
I. Using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare;
II. Being honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the public, their
employers and clients; and
III. Striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.
The Fundamental Canons
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in
the performance of their professional duties.
Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their competence.
3. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their
careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional and ethical
development of those engineers under their supervision.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as
faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the
appearance of conflicts of interest.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their
services and shall not compete unfairly with others.
6. Engineers shall associate only with reputable persons or organizations.
7. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner.
8. Engineers shall consider environmental impact in the performance of their
professional duties.
The ASME criteria for interpretation of the Canons are guidelines and represent the
objectives toward which members of the engineering profession should strive. They are
principles which an engineer can reference in specific situations. In addition, they provide
interpretive guidance to the ASME Board on Professional Practice and Ethics on the Code of
Ethics of Engineers.
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in
the performance of their professional duties.
a. Engineers shall recognize that the lives, safety, health and welfare of the
general public are dependent upon engineering judgments, decisions and
practices incorporated into structures, machines, products, processes and
devices.
b. Engineers shall not approve or seal plans and/or specifications that are not
of a design safe to the public health and welfare and in conformity with
accepted engineering standards.
c. Whenever the Engineers' professional judgments are over ruled under
circumstances where the safety, health, and welfare of the public are
endangered, the Engineers shall inform their clients and/or employers of the
possible consequences.
(1) Engineers shall endeavor to provide data such as published standards, test codes, and
quality control procedures that will enable the users to understand safe use during life
expectancy associated with the designs, products, or systems for which they are responsible.
(2) Engineers shall conduct reviews of the safety and reliability of the designs, products, or
systems for which they are responsible before giving their approval to the plans for the
design.
(3) Whenever Engineers observe conditions, directly related to their employment, which they
believe will endanger public safety or health, they shall inform the proper authority of the
situation.
d. If engineers have knowledge of or reason to believe that another person or firm may be in
violation of any of the provisions of these Canons, they shall present such information to the
proper authority in writing and shall cooperate with the proper authority in furnishing such
further information or assistance as may be required.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.
a. Engineers shall undertake to perform engineering assignments only when qualified by
education and/or experience in the specific technical field of engineering involved.
b. Engineers may accept an assignment requiring education and/or experience outside of their
own fields of competence, but their services shall be restricted to other phases of the project
in which they are qualified. All other phases of such project shall be performed by qualified
associates, consultants, or employees.
3. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their
careers, and should provide opportunities for the professional and ethical
development of those engineers under their supervision.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as
faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the
appearance of conflicts of interest.
a. Engineers shall avoid all known conflicts of interest with their employers or clients and
shall promptly inform their employers or clients of any business association, interests, or
circumstances which could influence their judgment or the quality of their services.
b. Engineers shall not undertake any assignments which would knowingly create a potential
conflict of interest between themselves and their clients or their employers.
c. Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party
for services on the same project, or for services pertaining to the same project, unless the
circumstances are fully disclosed to, and agreed to, by all interested parties.
d. Engineers shall not solicit or accept financial or other valuable considerations, for
specifying products or material or equipment suppliers, without disclosure to their clients or
employers.
e. Engineers shall not solicit or accept gratuities, directly or indirectly, from contractors, their
agents, or other parties dealing with their clients or employers in connection with work for
which they are responsible. Where official public policy or employers' policies tolerate
acceptance of modest gratuities or gifts, engineers shall avoid a conflict of interest by
complying with appropriate policies and shall avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
f. When in public service as members, advisors, or employees of a governmental body or
department, Engineers shall not participate in considerations or actions with respect to
services provided by them or their organization(s) in private or product engineering practice.
g. Engineers shall not solicit an engineering contract from a governmental body or other
entity on which a principal, officer, or employee of their organization serves as a member
without disclosing their relationship and removing themselves from any activity of the body
which concerns their organization.
h. Engineers working on codes, standards or governmental sanctioned rules and
specifications shall exercise careful judgment in their determinations to ensure a balanced
viewpoint, and avoid a conflict of interest.
i. When, as a result of their studies, Engineers believe a project(s) will not be successful, they
shall so advise their employer or client.
j. Engineers shall treat information coming to them in the course of their assignments as
confidential, and shall not use such information as a means of making personal profit if such
action is adverse to the interests of their clients, their employers or the public.
(1) They will not disclose confidential information concerning the business affairs or
technical processes of any present or former employer or client or bidder under evaluation,
without his consent, unless required by law or court order.
(2) They shall not reveal confidential information or finding of any commission or board of
which they are members unless required by law or court order
(3) Designs supplied to Engineers by clients shall not be duplicated by the Engineers for
others without the express permission of the client(s).
k. Engineers shall act with fairness and justice to all parties when administering a
construction (or other) contract.
l. Before undertaking work for others in which Engineers may make improvements, plans,
designs, inventions, or other records which may justify seeking copyrights, patents, or
proprietary rights, Engineers shall enter into positive agreements regarding the rights of
respective parties.
m. Engineers shall admit their own errors when proven wrong and refrain from distorting or
altering the facts to justify their mistakes or decisions.
n. Engineers shall not accept professional employment or assignments outside of their regular
work without the knowledge of their employers.
o. Engineers shall not attempt to attract an employee from other employers or from the
market place by false or misleading representations.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their
services and shall not compete unfairly with others.
a. Engineers shall negotiate contracts for professional services on the basis of demonstrated
competence and qualifications for the type of professional service required.
b. Engineers shall not request, propose, or accept professional commissions on a contingent
basis if, under the circumstances, their professional judgments may be compromised.
c. Engineers shall not falsify or permit misrepresentation of their, or their associates,
academic or professional qualification. They shall not misrepresent or exaggerate their
degrees of responsibility in or for the subject matter of prior assignments. Brochures or other
presentations used to solicit personal employment shall not misrepresent pertinent facts
concerning employers, employees, associates, joint venturers, or their accomplishments.
d. Engineers shall prepare articles for the lay or technical press which are only factual.
Technical Communications for publication (theses, articles, papers, reports,etc.) which are
based on research involving more than one individual (including students and supervising
faculty, industrial supervisor/researcher or other co-workers) must recognize all significant
contributors. Plagiarism, the act of substantially using another's ideas or written materials
without due credit, is unethical. (See Appendix.)
e. Engineers shall not maliciously or falsely, directly or indirectly, injure the professional
reputation, prospects, practice or employment of another engineer, nor shall they
indiscriminately criticize another's work.
f. Engineers shall not use equipment, supplies, laboratory or office facilities of their
employers to carry on outside private practice without consent.
6. Engineers shall associate only with reputable persons or organizations.
a. Engineers shall not knowingly associate with or permit the use of their names or firm
names in business ventures by any person or firm which they know, or have reason to
believe, are engaging in business or professional practices of a fraudulent or dishonest nature.
b. Engineers shall not use association with non-engineers, corporations, or partnerships to
disguise unethical acts.
7. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner.
a. Engineers shall endeavor to extend public knowledge, and to prevent misunderstandings of
the achievements of engineering.
b. Engineers shall be completely objective and truthful in all professional reports, statements
or testimony. They shall include all relevant and pertinent information in such reports,
statements or testimony.
c. Engineers, when serving as expert or technical witnesses before any court, commission, or
other tribunal, shall express an engineering opinion only when it is founded on their adequate
knowledge of the facts in issue, their background of technical competence in the subject
matter, and their belief in the accuracy and propriety of their testimony.
d. Engineers shall issue no statements, criticisms, or arguments on engineering matters which
are inspired or paid for by an interested party, or parties, unless they preface their comments
by identifying themselves, by disclosing the identities of the party or parties on whose behalf
they are speaking, and by revealing the existence of any financial interest they may have in
matters under discussion.
e. Engineers shall be truthful in explaining their work and merit, and shall avoid any act
tending to promote their own interest at the expense of the integrity and honor of the
profession or another individual.
8. Engineers shall consider environmental impact in the performance of their
professional duties.
a. Engineers shall concern themselves with the impact of their plans and designs on the
environment. When the impact is a clear threat to health or safety of the public, then the
guidelines for this Canon revert to those of Canon 1.
9. Engineers accepting membership in The American Society ofMechanical
Engineers by this action agree to abide by this Society Policy on Ethics and
procedures for its implementation.
Moral Leadership
Moral Leadership brings together in one comprehensive volume essays from leading scholars
in law, leadership, psychology, political science, and ethics to provide practical, theoretical
policy guidance. The authors explore key questions about moral leadership such as:
How do leaders form, sustain, and transmit moral commitments?
Under what conditions are those processes most effective?
What is the impact of ethics officers, codes, training programs, and similar
initiatives?
How do standards and practices vary across context and culture?
What can we do at the individual, organizational, and societal level to foster moral
leadership?
ENGINEERS AS EXPERT WITNESS AND ADVISORS
Engineering expert witnesses are highly credentialed mechanical, safety & civil,
geotechnical, chemical and electrical engineers specializing in the areas of design,
construction & structural engineering, failure analysis, human factors, occupational safety,
metallurgy and more. They provide litigation support through review and evaluation of
distressed structures for land slide and erosion cases; performance of forensic studies on
hydraulics, power plants, pipelines, boiler systems, traffic, automotive, electrical fire
involving electrical systems of machinery; site research and inspection, laboratory testings,
report writing, depositions and court testimony.
Engineers shall endeavor to extend public knowledge, and to prevent misunderstandings of
the achievements of engineering.
b. Engineers shall be completely objective and truthful in all professional reports, statements
or testimony. They shall include all relevant and pertinent information in such reports,
statements or testimony.
c. Engineers, when serving as expert or technical witnesses before any court, commission, or
other tribunal, shall express an engineering opinion only when it is founded on their adequate
knowledge of the facts in issue, their background of technical competence in the subject
matter, and their belief in the accuracy and propriety of their testimony.